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.
November 21, 1974 - Margaret Chase Smith, Republican senator from Maine from 1949 to 1972, at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for series of lectures and meetings. Smith recalled the six presidents during her Congressional career.
December 17, 1974 - Karen Klein, professor at Brandeis University, delivers luncheon address on the feminism and the family in literature at a meeting of the Minneapolis-St. Paul chapter of the Brandeis Women. MPR’s Connie Goldman attended the event and recorded Dr. Klein's discussion.
February 2, 1975 - Marcela Trujillo Gaitan speaks at Women's Political Caucus about cultural values of Chicana women working within environment of Anglo centric women’s movement.
April 1, 1975 - Helen Gilbert, masters in folklore and professor at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, speaking before the Spring Area Women's Conference at the Germain Hotel in St. Cloud. The title of the speech was "Women in Mythology."
June 3, 1975 - MPR’s John Ydstie reports on a conference discussion on women's part in ongoing revolution and "separate but equal" in school athletics with members of NOW (National Organization for Women).
June 20, 1975 - Gray Panthers founder Maggie Kuhn talks about mandatory retirement with MPR’s Bill Siemering. Maggie Kuhn speaks at a North Dakota Seniors United Meeting.
July 16, 1975 - MPR’s Greg Barron reports on differences between men and women in insurance industry policies. Betty Howard, director of Women's Division of Minnesota Department of Human Rights, discusses the disparity between women and men in terms of obtaining insurance, particulary in the case of the newly divorced.
July 16, 1975 - An audio clip of Betty Howard, director of Women's Division of Minnesota Department of Human Rights, on the disparity in coverage and access to insurance between women and men.
August 15, 1975 - As part of KCCM's Our Home Town series, this program is a sound portrait of Mott, North Dakota. Highlights discussion of attitudes on women, family and acceptance of newcomers.
August 20, 1975 - MPR’s Martin Bunzel interviews sex-positive feminist Margo St. James, who discusses the decriminalization of prostitution.