Schenken Suzanne O’Dea. From Suffrage to the Senate: An Encyclopedia of American Women in Politics (2 Volumes)

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Rights Amendment; National Federation of Republican Women; National

Organization for Women; National Woman’s Party; National Women’s

Political Caucus; Nineteenth Amendment; Parks, Rosa Louise McCauley; Paul,

Alice; President’s Commission on the Status of Women; President’s Task Force

on Women’s Rights and Responsibilities; Protective Legislation; Republican

Party, Women in the; Roe v. Wade; Roosevelt, Eleanor; St. George, Katharine

Delano Price Collier; Schlafly, Phyllis Stewart; Seneca Falls Convention; Sex

Discrimination; Suffrage; Women’s Educational Equity Act of 1974

References Berry, Why ERA Failed: Politics, Women’s Rights, and the Amending

Process of the Constitution (1986); Boles, “Building Support for the ERA:

A Case of ‘Too Much, Too Late’” (1982); Carroll, “Direct Action and

Constitutional Rights: The Case of the ERA” (1986); Congressional

Quarterly Almanac, 91st Congress, 2nd Session . . . 1970 (1970);

Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 92nd Congress, 1st Session . . . 1971

(1972); Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 92nd Congress, 2nd Session . . .

1972 (1972); Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 98th Congress, 1st Session . . .

1983 (1984); Felsenthal, The Biography of Phyllis Schlafly (1982); Freeman,

“From Protection to Equal Opportunity: The Revolution in Women’s Legal

Status” (1990); Harrison, On Account of Sex (1988).

Equal Rights Amendments, State

Nineteen states have equal rights sections or provisions in their state con-

stitutions or have added equal rights amendments to their state constitu-

tions, although these provisions vary in their scope and in the ways that

state courts have interpreted them. The states with equal rights provisions

and the dates of passage are Alaska (1972), Colorado (1972), Connecticut

(1974), Florida (1998), Hawaii (1972), Illinois (1970), Iowa (1998), Louisi-

ana (1974), Maryland (1972), Massachusetts (1976), Montana (1972), New

Hampshire (1975), New Mexico (1973), Pennsylvania (1971), Texas (1972),

Utah (1896), Virginia (1971), Washington (1972), and Wyoming (1890).

Wyoming, the first state to incorporate an equal rights provision, in-

cluded it in its state constitution in 1890, as did Utah in 1896. Illinois in-

corporated its provision when it adopted a new constitution in 1970. The

other states added constitutional amendments in the 1970s, the excep-

tions being Florida and Iowa, which added them in 1998.

Some of the provisions cover private and public conduct, and others

are limited to public actions only. The standard for determining discrim-

inatory action has varied by state, with some state courts using strict

scrutiny and other state courts using less rigorous levels. Legislatures have

also differed in their responses to the provisions. For example, after New

Mexico added an ERA to its state constitution, the legislature reviewed

state laws and changed more than twenty discriminatory laws and pro-

posed two additional constitutional amendments. However, Utah has

passed and retained laws that treat women and men differently.

Equal Rights Amendments, State 245

In some states, attorneys general have determined that women could

use their birth names and that legal restrictions on female employment

are null. The New Mexico State Supreme Court upheld a ban on students

visiting the dormitory rooms of the opposite sex, but a Texas court re-

jected a policy that required women students to live on campus, whereas

men had to live off campus. The Pennsylvania insurance commissioner

prohibited the use of sex in setting automobile insurance rates.

The many differences in states’ equal rights provisions, in court in-

terpretations of them, and in legislative responses to them prohibit mak-

ing generalizations regarding their impact.

See also Democratic Party, Women in the

References New York Times, 6 May 1998.

Evers-Williams, Myrlie Louise Beasley (b. 1933)

Widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, Myrlie Evers-Williams

chaired the board of the National Association for the Advancement of

Colored People (NAACP) from 1995 to 1998. She announced her candi-

dacy for the job at a time when the NAACP struggled with financial and

sexual harassment scandals, a lawsuit against the incumbent chair that

board members initiated, and substantial debts. Evers-Williams requested

the resignation of several board members and instituted a number of re-

forms within the organization, thereby restoring its integrity. With

NAACP president Kweisi Mfume, she overcame its $4 million debt, leav-

ing the organization with a $2 million surplus. She resigned to devote

more time to the Medgar Evers Institute.

Evers-Williams married Medgar Evers in 1950, and in 1955 he became

head of the NAACP Mississippi state office in Jackson. As her husband’s

secretary, Evers-Williams worked with him to secure voting rights, eco-

nomic stability, fair housing, equal education, and equal justice and dignity

for African Americans. Despite repeated death threats, the couple remained

Evers-Williams, Myrlie Louise Beasley 249

Myrlie Evers, widow

of slain civil rights

leader Medgar Evers,

addressed a freedom

rally sponsored by the

National Association

for the Advancement

of Colored People at

Howard University,

1963 (Corbis-

Bettmann)

in Jackson, continued their work, and taught their children to fall to the

floor if they heard an unusual noise. In the spring of 1963, their home was

fire-bombed, and Evers-Williams put out the fire with a garden hose.

On 12 June 1963, Medgar Evers was shot on his front porch. The next

night, Evers-Williams attended a mass meeting at Pearl Street Baptist

Church. She told the audience:“I am left without my husband and my chil-

dren without a father, but I am left with the strong determination to try to

take up where he left off.” Byron de la Beckwith was arrested for Evers’s

murder, tried, and set free by a hung jury. A second trial also ended with-

out a conviction. Evers-Williams persisted and called for a third trial after

allegations of jury tampering in the second trial came to light. On 5 Feb-

ruary 1994, Beckwith was found guilty of murder and given a life sentence.

After her husband’s murder, Evers-Williams moved her family to

Claremont, California, and began classes at Pomona College. While a stu-

dent, Evers-Williams continued to make public speeches for the NAACP,

primarily about her husband’s life and work. After graduating in 1968, she

worked for the college until 1970. Evers-Williams unsuccessfully ran for

Congress in 1970 and for a Los Angeles City Council seat in 1987. She was

appointed to the Los Angeles Board of Public Works in 1987.

Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Myrlie Evers-Williams attended Al-

corn Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1950. She earned her bache-

lor’s degree in 1968 from Pomona College.

Evers-Williams wrote For Us, the Living (1967).

See also Civil Rights Movement, Women in the; National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People

References H. W. Wilson, Current Biography Yearbook, 1995 (1995);

www.naacp.org.

Executive Order 10980

Signed by President John F. Kennedy on 14 December 1961, Executive Or-

der 10980 established the President’s Commission on the Status of

Women. The order explained that “prejudices and outmoded customs act

as barriers to the full realization of women’s basic rights which should be

respected and fostered as part of our nation’s commitment to human dig-

nity, freedom, and democracy.” Noting that women had served in every

period of national emergency, the order said that after the emergency

ended, women had been treated as a marginal group. Stating that women

should be allowed to develop their talents and use their skills, the com-

mission’s report made recommendations for overcoming employment

discrimination on the basis of sex and for services to help women in their

roles as wives and mothers.

250 Executive Order 10980

See also President’s Commission on the Status of Women

References Mead and Kaplan, eds., American Women: The Report of the Presi-

dent’s Commission on the Status of Women and Other Publications of the Com-

mission (1965).

Executive Order 11126

Signed by President John F. Kennedy on 1 November 1963, Executive Or-

der 11126 established the Interdepartmental Committee on the Status of

Women and the Citizens’ Advisory Council on the Status of Women. The

two groups were part of the recommendations made by the President’s

Commission on the Status of Women and were created to provide con-

tinuing leadership in the advancement of the status of women. The Inter-

departmental Committee’s area of responsibility was women employed by

the federal government, and the Citizens’ Advisory Council oversaw the

private sector.

See also Citizens’ Advisory Council on the Status of Women; President’s

Commission on the Status of Women

Executive Order 11246

Signed by President Lyndon Johnson on 24 September 1965, Executive

Order 11246 established equal employment opportunity as the policy of

the federal government. It prohibited discrimination on the basis of race,

creed, color, or national origin. It also required all government contracts

to include an equal opportunities clause stating that the contractor

would not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. In

addition, the contractor agreed to take affirmative action to prevent dis-

crimination. The affirmative action requirement covered employment,

promotion, demotion, recruitment, termination, pay rates, and appren-

ticeship programs.

See also Affirmative Action; Executive Order 11375

References Linden-Ward and Green, American Women in the 1960s: Changing

the Future (1993).

Executive Order 11375

Signed by President Lyndon Johnson on 13 October 1967, Executive Or-

der 11375 expanded Executive Order 11246 to add sex to the groups cov-

ered by the government’s equal employment opportunity policy for fed-

eral employees. The effort to end sex discrimination in federal

employment included the creation of the Federal Women’s Program

(FWP), which was established to enhance opportunities for women in

every area of federal employment. Every federal department and agency

Executive Order 11375 251

had an FWP manager, and some agencies had FWP committees. The Of-

fice of Personnel Management administered the program. The Depart-

ment of Labor used the order to pressure other federal departments to

conduct reviews of their compliance and to sue contractors who used un-

fair hiring practices.

See also Executive Order 11246; Federal Women’s Program; Federally

Employed Women

References www.few.org/fwp/htm.

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

Passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, the Fam-

ily and Medical Leave Act protects the jobs of workers who take leaves of

absence for a range of family responsibilities. The act requires employers

to allow employees who have worked for them for at least a year to take

up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave during any twelve-month period for

the birth or adoption of a child; the placement of a foster child; the seri-

ous illness of a child, spouse, or parent; or the employee’s own health. The

act applies to companies with fifty or more employees, exempting about

95 percent of all employers, but the companies it covers employ about 60

percent of all workers.

Democratic congresswoman Patricia Schroeder of Colorado and

Republican congresswoman Margaret Roukema of New Jersey led the

eight-year campaign to enact the measure. Roukema explained its im-

portance: “This bill represents not only decency, but what is required in

the workplace today.” She also believed that the bill was a “bedrock fam-

ily issue,” adding: “This is not just symbolism. This is health care. This is

job security.”

The Family and Medical Leave Act was supported by 9to5, National

Association of Working Women, and other women’s groups and opposed

by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Inde-

pendent Business. The National Retail Federation withdrew its opposition

in 1993, explaining that the proposal had evolved and the association

could support it. In addition, Aetna Life and Casualty Company an-

nounced that its family leave policy had saved the company $2 million in

253

one year through reduced employee turnover and reduced hiring and

training costs.

First introduced in 1985, the bill was killed in 1988 with a Senate fil-

ibuster. The bill passed both chambers in 1990, but President George Bush

vetoed it, as he did in 1992. That year, the Senate voted to override Bush’s

veto, but the House was twenty-seven votes short. In 1992, Democratic

presidential candidate Bill Clinton made the bill a top campaign issue, and

when the bill passed on 4 February 1993, it became his first legislative vic-

tory as president.

See also Congress, Women in; 9to5, National Association of Working Women;

Roukema, Margaret Scafati; Schroeder, Patricia Nell Scott

References Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 101st Congress, 2nd Session . . .

1990 (1991); Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 102nd Congress, 2nd

Session...1992 (1993); Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 103rd Congress,

1st Session...1993 (1994); www.dol.gov/dol/asp/public/programs/

handbook/fmla.htm.

Farenthold, Frances (Sissy) Talton (b. 1926)

The first woman to be nominated for vice president of the United States

at a major party convention, Democrat Frances Farenthold entered poli-

tics as a volunteer in John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign. Di-

rector of Nueces County Legal Aid from 1965 to 1967 and a member of

the Corpus Christi Human Relations Commission, she witnessed the in-

equities of Texas’s welfare system and concluded that state agencies did

not meet the needs of poor Texans. Determined to change state policies,

Farenthold ran for the state legislature in 1968 on the themes of “Ethics,

Efficiency, Education, and Ecology.” During her first term, she passed a bill

giving the state a portion of the treasures and antiquities found in its wa-

ters and coastal areas and attempted to reform welfare programs. She ran

for a second term in 1970 and used “Integrity, Courage, and Competence

in the 70s” for her campaign theme. When she called for an investigation

of a bank scandal that involved the speaker and leadership of the Texas

House, the men retaliated. In drawing the new district lines required after

the 1970 census, the leadership created a district that left Farenthold with-

out her political base.

In 1972, Farenthold ran for governor but lost. She also worked for

George McGovern’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention.

Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm had earlier declared that she was run-

ning for the presidential nomination but then declined to seek a place on

the ticket for either the presidential or vice presidential nomination. With

Chisholm’s withdrawal, several college students circulated a petition for

Farenthold’s nomination for the vice presidency, and the National

254 Farenthold, Frances (Sissy) Talton