About Betty Friedan

  Writer, feminist and women's rights activist Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique (1963) and co-founded the National Organization for Women. She published The Feminine Mystique, which looks at the idea of women finding happiness beyond traditional roles. She co-founded NOW (National Organization for Women) in 1966, and served as its first president. 

  After she became pregnant with her second child, Jonathan. Friedan then stayed home to care for her family, but she was restless as a homemaker and began to wonder if other women felt the same way she did. 

  Friedan surveyed graduates of Smith College. The results of her research formed the root of her book The Feminine Mystique, published in 1963, throughout which Friedan encourages women to seek new opportunities for themselves.

  Friedan did more than write about gender stereotypes—she became a force for change. Pushing for women to have a greater role in the political process, she co-founded the National Organization for Women in 1966, subsequently serving as its first president. She also fought for abortion rights