Avenger of the Week | Muriel Fox, Co-founder of the National Organization For Women (NOW)

When GenderAvenger co-founder Gina Glantz met Muriel Fox, she immediately knew Muriel should be an Avenger of the Week. In fact, to quote 76-year-old Gina, “I want to grow up to be 91-year-old Muriel.”

Muriel Fox (center). Photo credit: National Organization for Women [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0], via Flickr.

In 1966, Muriel Fox co-founded the National Organization for Women (NOW). Growing up, she had a mother who was unhappy with being a housewife, and she was told in her professional life that  “we don’t hire women” in certain roles or that she’d never move past the role of Vice President because “women don’t become CEOs”. She pushed back by joining famed feminist writer and activist Betty Friedan to create NOW and bring women "into the mainstream of American society now [in] fully equal partnership with men." Muriel later went on to co-found the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, the oldest legal advocacy group for women in the United States, and she has continued her advocacy work, raising millions of dollars for women’s causes.

Why does 76-year-old @glantzings want to grow up to be @NationalNOW co-founder Muriel Fox? Because Muriel is a women’s advocacy rock star, and she’s @GenderAvenger’s #AvengerOfTheWeek. #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/avenger-of-the-week-muriel-fox