For a long time men were given the responsibility to work on the labor-intensive work, and women took care of the housework. Over time skilled labor employment gained more dignity and shadowed domestic work and its importance. Domestic work and household chores were taken for granted. Since men performed skilled labor, over time the ideology that men were superior came over and women were shut down and discriminated against. 

The Declaration of Independence says that all should be treated equally, women all over America thought they deserved the same rights as men. According to the National Women’s History Alliance website, the women’s rights movement began on July 13, 1848, by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Stanton and a group of patriotic women gathered and wrote the  “Declaration of Sentiments” in which they stated that “ the same familiar words framed their arguments: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 72 years after the “Declaration of  Sentiments," the 19th Amendment was made, which gave women the right to vote.

Even though women's voting rights were obtained, gender pay disparity was a large issue. Protests and pleading paved the way for “the Equal Pay Act'' passed in 1963 to abolish wage disparity between men and women. Since this act did not change the practical world, more protests and groups were formed.  Along with the NAACP,  women created, the National Organization for Women(NOW), which was formed in 1966. The movement continued working for women’s education systems. The women in the NOW arrived at a consensus and worked to write a Bill of Rights for women.

Bill of Rights for Women emphasized the enforcement of laws banning employment discrimination; maternity leave rights; child-care centers that could enable mothers to work; tax deductions for child-care expenses; equal and unsegregated education; and equal job-training opportunities for poor women”(Britannica).

      More movements stirred Congress to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)t. Since the provisions in ERA were prohibiting the benefits in the prevailing “protective labor legislation”  United Auto Workers withdrew their support to NOW.  Another reason the ERA could not come into effect is because only 35 out of the 38 states needed for ratification agreed, “ERA passed Congress in 1972. But its ratification by the states became a rallying point for the backlash against feminism” (Britannica).