Mass Action and Political Power

Friedan helped organize the 1970 Women’s Strike for Equality, which used coordinated public action to demonstrate the reach of the women’s movement. She also co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971 to increase women’s influence as candidates, officeholders, and voters.

These projects extended feminism from diagnosis into political infrastructure. They also exposed strategic and generational disagreements over sexuality, race, leadership, and whether change should center formal equality or a deeper transformation of social life.