Core Issues

The National Organization for Women is a multi-issue organization whose local chapters, like Seattle NOW, work on a variety of issues that impact women and their families in our area. Central issues for NOW are:

Advancing Reproductive Justice

BECAUSE OUR BODIES ARE OUR OWN. NOW affirms that reproductive rights are issues of life and death for women, not mere matters of choice. NOW fully supports affordable access to safe and legal abortion, to effective birth control and emergency contraception, to reproductive health services and education for all women. NOW opposes restrictions and works to increase access through legislation, litigation, and direct action.

Ensuring Economic Justice

BECAUSE WE EARNED IT. NOW fights for equality in jobs, pay, credit, education, insurance, fringe benefits, pensions, and Social Security -- through legislation, negotiation, labor organizing, education and litigation. NOW pledges to help women break through the "glass ceiling" of the executive suite, and break loose of the "sticky floor" -- the dead-end wage jobs that keep so many women in poverty. NOW actively opposes punitive welfare laws that harm the most vulnerable women and children in our society.

Stopping Violence Against Women

BECAUSE WE SHOULD BE SAFE. NOW is unique in its approach to the issue of violence against women, emphasizing that there are many interrelated aspects to the issue -- domestic violence; sexual assault; sexual harassment; violence against abortion clinics; hate crimes across lines of gender, sexuality and race; the gender bias in our judicial system that further victimizes survivors of violence; and the violence of poverty.

Winning Lesbian Rights

BECAUSE WE LOVE WHO WE LOVE. NOW is committed to fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in all areas, including employment, housing, public accommodations, health services, child custody and military policies. NOW supports educational efforts that combat the adverse effects of homophobia, promote positive images in the media and ultimately ensure civil rights protection. NOW asserts the rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people to live their lives with dignity and security, and the rights of equal marriage for all.

Promoting Diversity and Ending Racism

BECAUSE WE KNOW WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT. NOW has always worked to eliminate discrimination and racism and to promote racial and ethnic diversity. Recognizing that racism stands in the way of women's empowerment and full equality. NOW pledges to fight to eradicate it in all of its forms, including individual attitudes and institutionalized racism.

Achieving Equality: Women in the Constitution

BECAUSE WE ARE STILL NOT EQUAL. NOW's goals of full gender equality includes equal rights, equal treatment, and equal opportunities in every sphere of life. Equality of rights for all women must be guaranteed in the U.S. constitution, so that we will not have to fight for each and every advance, and will not have to constantly defend the gains we have made.

You can make equality a reality for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world. Join NOW!