NOW’s Legacy at Our 60th Anniversary – and the Work Ahead

A Message from National NOW President Kim Villanueva

My interest in feminism started when I was just eight years old. I wanted to be an altar server at my church, but was told that only boys were allowed. When I asked why, I was told: "Because that's the way it is."

Well, I thought, that's not the way it should be, and it set me on my path as a lifelong advocate. Each of us probably has a similar story of recognizing that women deserve equality.

Since our founding in 1966, NOW's purpose is to take action through intersectional grassroots activism to promote feminist ideals, lead societal change, eliminate discrimination, and achieve and protect the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life.

NOW's legacy is rooted in bold action and collective courage. From advancing workplace equality and reproductive justice to championing intersectional feminism and grassroots organizing, NOW has consistently been a driving force for progress.

But anniversaries are not just about looking back-they are about looking forward.

NOW members are taking our core issues and addressing them in their present-day form. While NOW was instrumental in the passage of the Violence Against Women Act, today chapters such as NOW Houston Area and Minnesota NOW are speaking out against the mistreatment of women in ICE detention centers. National NOW called out Elon Musk's Grok for generating sexual images of young girls and helped pass legislation to fight against AI deepfakes and online abuse of women.

After victories in abortion rights, we are again fighting to make abortion legal for all pregnant people and standing up for all reproductive rights. Mass NOW has led the way in fighting for menstrual equity by lobbying the state legislature to pass the I AM bill to guarantee free menstrual products in the bathrooms of schools, prisons, homeless shelters, and public buildings, and the Ingredient Disclosure Bill, requiring all ingredients to be listed on menstrual product packaging sold in Massachusetts.

Dismantling a wall of oppression that the other side has spent decades building won't happen overnight-it must be a step-by-step fight. NOW creates change by chipping away at that wall every single day, starting with small, crucial steps: showing up at rallies, contacting legislators, and standing up at local school and library board meetings when issues arise in our communities. But it also means not shying away from taking on the big fights: mobilizing for the midterm elections and changing the face of Congress to make it truly democratic and representative of the people.

Our work isn't done. But we have the strength of the women who have come before us in our first 60 years and the fight by and for women for the next 60 years and beyond.