Who is National Women’s Liberation?
National Women’s Liberation (NWL) is a multiracial feminist group that fights back against male supremacy, white supremacy and capitalism. We believe that change comes from the actions of everyday people — not politicians, the courts, lobbyists or the media. The freedoms we have now were won by movements of regular people, organizing and fighting for change. We aim to build a mass movement of feminist organizers to bring new fire to the fight for our liberation. We are funded by the dues of NWL members, not corporations or their foundations.
NWL membership is open to all women and trans people who do not benefit from male supremacy, because we believe that we should lead the fight for our freedom.
We have two chapters, one in Gainesville, Florida, and one in New York City. Activists in other locations are welcome to get involved virtually. Our Women of Color Caucus (WOCC) provides anti-racist analysis and leadership to guide our work.
We’re Fighting for
Reproductive freedom, full access, and no coercion — to have or not to have, we need all the tools to consent to parenthood or not.
Those who identify as men, and all who benefit from male and white supremacy, we need you to take a fair share of care work, housework and emotional labor. Acknowledge how racism and sexism influence labor allocation and compensation (or not), rather than actual skill or importance.
Universal healthcare with Expanded and Improved Medicare for All — no private insurance companies.
Universal Paid Parental leave, at least 6 months like 50 other countries have, and not tied to our employer.
Universal childcare, free, like the public schools.
Protection and expansion of Social Security: we should all be able to retire.
A shorter work week with a living wage.
For more information, read NWL’s “What We Want, What We Believe,” the formulation of which was borrowed from "What We Want, What We Believe” from the Ten-Point Program of the Black Panther Party (1966).
Our History
NWL draws its origins from a collaboration between organizers from Redstockings of the Women’s Liberation Movement and Gainesville (FL) Women’s Liberation (GWL) starting in 1968, and continues today. Redstockings is a radical feminist think tank and archive and was one of the original groups of the 1960s Women’s Liberation Movement in New York City. GWL was the first women’s liberation group formed in the South, founded in 1968. This powerful collaboration ignited advances in women’s liberation theory and concrete gains, including:
Pro-Woman feminism: women are messed over, not messed up;
The Personal is Political: women’s individual, so-called personal problems are political problems with collective solutions;
Consciousness-Raising: getting to the root of who benefits from male supremacy and who pays; using this analysis to fight for change.
The Women’s Liberation Task Force for National Health Care that has brought national attention to women’s stake in a national health care system not tied to a job or marriage.
Leadership in the campaign to get the Morning After Pill over-the-counter, increasing access for millions of women and girls in the U.S.
For more information on NWL’s founding theories and to obtain original sources, visit redstockings.org. Browse NWL’s site to learn more about our history, what we stand for, and our current campaigns.