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A feminist and political activist who was born in Illinois, US. She a founder of the National Organization for Women in the United States and was active in Marxist and Jewish circles. She wrote for and edited the campus newspaper at Smith College where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, completing her studies summa cum laude in 1942. Her book The Feminine Mystique is credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism in the 20th century. Through her published works and activism, she was a spokesperson for improving the status of women in society, and revealing the inequities and injustices faced by American women as a result of their gender. She was a co-founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus and spearheaded the Women’s Strike for Equality, a massive rally on the streets of New York.
