The Task Force on Women's Rights and Responsibilities was an American advisory committee appointed by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

on October 1, 1969. The stated goal of the task force was to "review the present status of women in our society and recommend what might be done in the future to further advance their opportunities." On December 15, 1969, the Task Force released ''A Matter of Simple Justice'', a 77-page report.

Recommendations

The Task Force made five recommendations in ''A Matter of Simple Justice'', including: * The establishment of an Office of Women's Rights and Responsibilities, reporting directly to the President. * The convening of a

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

conference by the White House to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. * Presidential-led congressional action, including: ** An

equal rights amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...

to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

. ** Amendments to the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1957. ** Amendments to the

Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and "time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits employment of minors in "oppres ...

and

Social Security Act The Social Security Act of 1935 is a law enacted by the 74th United States Congress and signed into law by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The law created the Social Security program as well as insurance against unemployment. The law was pa ...

, as well as the

Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code (IRC), formally the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, is the domestic portion of federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 ...

. ** Federal support for child care and family assistance. * Cabinet-level action to counteract

gender discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...

. * Presidential appointment of more women to federal government positions.

Members

* Virginia Allan (Chair), Executive Vice President of Cahalan Drug Stores, Inc. * Hon. Elizabeth Athanasakos, Municipal Court Judge and Attorney, Fort Lauderdale, FL * Ann R. Blackham, President, Ann R. Blackham & Company, Winchester, MA * P. Dee Boersma, Student Government Leader, graduate student,

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

* Evelyn Cunningham, Director, Women's Unit, Office of the Governor, New York, NY * Sister Ann Ida Gannon, B.V.M., President,

Mundelein College Mundelein College was the last private, independent, Roman Catholic women's college in Illinois. Located on the edge of the Rogers Park and Edgewater neighborhoods on the far north side of Chicago, Illinois, Mundelein College was founded and adm ...

, Chicago, IL * Vera Glaser, Correspondent, Knight Newspapers * Dorothy Haener, International Representative, Women's Department,

UAW The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American Labor unions in the United States, labor union that represents workers in the Un ...

, Detroit, MI * Laddie F. Hutar, President, Public Affairs Services Associate, Inc., Chicago, IL * Katherine B. Massenburg, Chairperson, Maryland Commission on the Status of Women, Baltimore, MD * William C. Mercer, Vice President, Personnel Relations,

American Telephone & Telegraph Company AT&T Corporation, originally the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is the subsidiary of AT&T Inc. that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agen ...

, New York, NY * Dr. Alan Simpson, President,

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

, Poughkeepsie, NY * Evelyn E. Whitlow, Attorney, Los Angeles, CA

References

{{Reflist

External links

A Matter of Simple Justice -- Report of the President's Task Force on Women's Rights
Stout, L., & Pennsylvania State University. (2012).
A Matter of Simple Justice: the untold story of Barbara Hackman Franklin and a few good women
University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Libraries. United States Presidential Task Forces Presidency of Richard Nixon