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Now's
Six Priority Issues |
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Economic
Justice |
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NOW
is fighting for equality in jobs, pay, credit, insurance, pensions, fringe
benefits, and Social Security — through legislation, negotiation, labor
organizing, education, and litigation. We are helping women break through
the "glass ceiling" of the executive suite, and break loose of
the "sticky floor" — the dead-end, low wage jobs that keep
so many women in poverty. NOW is actively opposed to punitive welfare reform
that harms the most vulnerable women and children in our society. |
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Lesbian/Gay
Rights |
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NOW
is committed to fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation in all
areas, including employment, housing, public accommodations, child custody,
and military and immigration policy. NOW asserts the right of lesbians and
gays to live their lives with dignity and security. |
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Reproductive
Rights |
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NOW affirms
that these are issues of life and death for women, not mere matters of choice.
NOW supports access to safe and legal abortion, to effective birth control,
to reproductive health and education. We oppose attempts to restrict these
rights through legislation, regulation (like the gag rule) or Constitutional
amendment.
NOW supports the right
of women to have children, including appropriate pre-natal care and quality
child care. We oppose government efforts to limit or discourage childbearing,
such as family caps and involuntary sterilization. (See Medical Students for Choice)
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Ending
Violence Against Women |
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NOW
challenges and acts to change the image of women as victims, which leaves
them vulnerable to sexual assault and spouse abuse. We pioneered model rape
and spouse assault legislation as well as support programs for battered
women, and NOW was instrumental in passing groundbreaking federal legislation,
the Violence Against Women Act. In recent years, increasing anti-abortion
violence has been used to limit women's access to reproductive health services,
and NOW has brought a precedent-setting racketeering case against these
terrorists. |
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Eliminating
Racism |
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NOW condemns
racism and takes action against racism as one of the organization's top
priorities. Seeing human rights as indivisible, we are committed to identifying
and fighting against those barriers to equality and justice that are imposed
by racism. |
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Advancement
of Disability Rights |
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Women with disabilities
face multiple forms of discrimination, making it even harder to achieve
their goals. They are disproportionately affected by unequal wages, unemployment,
poverty, sexual and physical abuse, and lack of insurance and benefits.
To solve these problems,
we must push for universal health care, Medicaid and Medicare funding
and accessible medical services. The Americans with Disabilities Act needs
enforcement and funding to work.
We must educate doctors,
teachers, judges, police officers and others who may be ill prepared to
serve women with disabilities. We should demand more research on disabilities
that strike women in greater numbers and health conditions that women
with disabilities develop; and we need to press for industry-independent
studies on complications related to breast implants. We must also raise
awareness about invisible disabilities, such as chemical sensitivities
and cognitive, developmental, mental or learning disabilities.
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These
are not the only issues that fall into the wide-ranging category of women's
rights. We are concerned, too, about women's health needs, the attitudes
toward and position of women in organized religion, the image of women in
the media, the special problems of rural women, and many others. All are
part of our organizational purpose to "bring women into full participation
in the mainstream of American society NOW."
Is
there something you can do to make equality a reality for your sisters,
your mothers, your daughters, yourself?
Yes,
there is ... Join NOW
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