National Women's Conference

The First National Women's Conference was held in Houston Texas, Nov. 18-21, 1977. It was sponsored by the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year, and adopted a 26-point national plan of action and published its proceedings as THE SPIRIT OF HOUSTON.

From the description of Records, 1975-1977. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155519540

From the description of National Women's Conference records, 1975-1977. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 51576567

The National Women's Conference was held on November 18-22, 1977 in Houston, Texas. The conference, which was part of a larger effort to study and report on the status of women in the United States, was sponsored by the United States' government (Congress appropriated $5 million for the entire study). This study occurred in response to the International Women's Year, which was held in Mexico City in 1975, sponsored by the United Nations.

Almost 2,000 women attended the National Women's Conference as official delegates or alternates. Each state sent delegates who had been elected at state meetings held earlier in the year. The purpose of the conference was to discuss and vote upon a National Plan of Action, which would provide the U.S. government with a plan for improving the status of women in all areas of their lives.

From the description of Marjorie Randal National Women's Year collection, 1974-1982. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 668456571

During November 18-21, 1977, twenty-thousand women gathered in Houston, Texas for the National Women's Conference, an outgrowth of International Women's Year, 1975. The conference aimed to address legal, economic, and social changes needed to ensure equality for women. Twenty-six resolutions on women's rights were proposed, voted upon by delegates, and presented to the Carter administration and Congress for adoption. The opening ceremony speakers included: First Ladies Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford and Lady Bird Johnson, activists Coretta Scott King, Bella Abzug, Betty Friedan, Barbara Jordan, Liz Carpenter, and Jean Stapleton. Maya Angelou read the declaration of intent.

Heated debates ensued over the Equal Rights Amendment, reproductive rights, child care funding, sexual orientation, and the rights of disabled, minority and aging women. There was also a lengthy discussion about disarmament, and a series of lectures by women in high-ranking government positions such as chair of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Assistant Secretary for the United States Department of Commerce, and head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

From the guide to the Audiotape collection of the National Women's Conference, 1977, (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)