Political parties and projects of gender reforms in the USA

By the moment of the emergence of the new feminist movement both Republicans and Democrats did not consider women to be participants in political life worth their notice. Nevertheless, in 1970s under the pressure from the feminist movements both parties took part in disputes on numerous aspects of gender reform. The most passionate polemics initiated by the feminists or their opponents were transferred into disputed among party members; they concerned the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, as well as the right to abortion and the policy of affirmative actions. I. R. Chikalova compares positions of the Republicans and the Democrats in these disputes and shows the specific features of their attitude towards the feminist movement.