The 1970s was an impactful decade for women’s striving for equality in the United States. Beyond the news headlines of ERA, NOW, and Roe vs. Wade, more women entered the workforce, enrolled in colleges, and took the spotlight in business, politics, and professional sports. The topic of gender discrimination was in the forefront, and with it, strong and diverse viewpoints on the path forward. Minnesota was no exception, and this collection represents some of the views and ways of life for women in this tumultuous decade.
March 13, 1973 - Excerpt of Gloria Steinem speech where she talks about women and reproductive freedom, birth control, and women on welfare.
May 5, 1973 - On this Radio Free Saturday, MPR’s Marvin Granger and Pual Gruchow interview Phyllis Kahn, Minnesota state representative. Kahn shares her critique of the University of Minnesota leadership.
May 20, 1973 - Part three of the MER documentary series, A Sense of Place. Program is titled “A Region Within Walls” and focuses on motherhood with young children.
September 2, 1973 - MPR’s Dulcie Lawrence reports on Jane VanDeusen, a Minnesota registered nurse, running for mayor on a health care platform as part of the Socialists Workers Party ticket.
September 2, 1973 - MPR’s Debbie Gage conducts an interview about a provision to treat women fairly in terms of getting financial credit.
September 2, 1973 - Proponent speech on how the proposed Equal Rights Amendment will affect women's political power / Speech on Pussycat League backlash.
September 2, 1973 - Gretchen Kreuter, president of Women Historians of the Midwest, and others discuss the organization’s support in women who teach history and want to advance status of women in history professions and also expand public perception of women's role in history.
September 4, 1973 - MPR’s Dulcie Lawrence interviews labor movement leaders Myrtle Harris, Nellie Stone Johnson, and Ann Lewis. The three talk about changes unions have brought about for women in the American workplace.
October 15, 1973 - Connie Goldman report of a day-long seminar on the elimination of sex bias in education.
December 7, 1973 - Lucy Komisar, journalist and author, speaks about feminism and creativity via women in the literary tradition.