Eleanor Roosevelt was an outspoken proponent for women’s rights.
In 1920 after women got the vote, Eleanor Roosevelt was Vice President of Legislative Affairs for the League of Women Voters and worked to mobilize women to vote.
In 1933, during the first press conference held by a First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt allowed only women reporters to attend – as women reporters were typically prohibited from attending presidential press conferences.
In 1962, she was appointed Chair of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. The report found gender discrimination in the workplace and outlined ways to alleviate some of the problems. The Commission helped pave the way for the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the founding of the National Organization for Women.
Eleanor Roosevelt was heavily involved in addressing the problems women of color faced as well – she supported fair housing and worked with the National Council of Negro Women, becoming very close friends with its founder, Mary McLeod Bethune.
And that’s just some of Eleanor’s work on women’s rights.
