In 1993, Congress passed the Family and Medical
Leave Act giving employees the right to be absent
without pay from work for a twelve-week period in
the case of their own serious illness or to take care of
a seriously ill family member or a new child.
In 1996, NOW implemented a seventeen-day
hunger strike in front of the White House demand-
ing that President Bill Clinton veto a welfare reform
bill that NOW believed would increase the poverty of
women and children.
Abortion and Violence in the U.S. Although the Su-
preme Court decision in theRoe v. Wadecase of 1973
had recognized a woman’s legal right to an abortion,
Americans remained divided in their opinions
about abortion as a moral choice. In 1991, under
President George H. W. Bush, a gag law went into ef-
fect. Federally funded family-planning clinics were
prohibited from providing women with information
about abortion. NOW organized a protest rally and
march as part of its National Conference in New
York City.
In 1992 and 1993, antiabortion activists perpe-
trated attacks upon abortion clinics and threatened
the lives of doctors who performed abortions. NOW
and other pro-choice organizations and individuals
waged a campaign to prosecute those responsible
for the attacks and insisted upon priority being given
to their investigation. In 1994, the Freedom of Ac-
cess to Clinic Entrances Act was passed, prohibiting
interference with a woman entering a clinic. In
1998, a nationwide injunction against violence at
abortion clinics went into effect.
The Violence Against Women Act was passed in
1994 with a budget of $1.6 billion to provide funds
for victims of rape and domestic violence and for
special training for police officers. It also strength-
ened the federal penalties against sex offenders.
The passage of the bill was the result of four years of
intensive lobbying by women’s rights organiza-
tions.
Impact In the 1990’s, Canadian and American
women made important contributions to their
country’s political life, both as officeholders and as
voices capable of influencing legislation. Rights
gained in the workplace through legislation in-
creased women’s role as a vital and stable part of the
economies of both Canada and the United States.
Legislation to fight violence against women im-
proved their status in both countries.
Further Reading
Barakso, Maryann.Governing NOW: Grassroots Activ-
ism in the National Organization for Women. Ithaca,
N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2004. Chapter 6
discusses the recruitment of female candidates,
while chapter 7 discusses women’s rights and
Clinton’s presidency.
Hodgson, James F., and Debra Kelley, eds.Sexual Vio-
lence: Policies, Practices and Challenges in the United
States and Canada. Westport, Conn.: Praeger,- Discusses the Violence Against Women Act
and reviews court cases.
Langley, Winston E., and Vivian Fox.Women’s Rights
in the United States. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, - Documents pertaining to women’s rights,
including the Family and Medical Leave Act. Ad-
dresses the role of women in science and in the
military. Includes a glossary, a list of women’s or-
ganizations, and a bibliography.
Shawncey Webb
See also Abortion; Faludi, Susan; Family and Med-
ical Leave Act of 1993; Hill, Anita; Kennedy rape
case; Marriage and divorce;Planned Parenthood v.
Casey; Supreme Court decisions; Take Our Daugh-
ters to Work Day;Thelma and Louise; Women in
the military; Women in the workforce; Year of the
Woman. Woods, Tiger
Identification African American professional
golfer
Born December 30, 1975; Cypress, California
Woods became the world’s most dominant professional
golfer after turning professional in 1996.
Eldrick “Tiger” Woods is the only son of Earl and
Kultida Woods. His nickname came from a Vietnam-
ese officer who served alongside his father during
the Vietnam War. Tiger was a golf prodigy and at-
tended Stanford University, winning three U.S. ama-
teur championships and a National Collegiate Ath-
letic Association (NCAA) golf championship while
he was a student there.
After persistent clashes with the NCAA and
United States Golf Association (USGA) over his am-
ateur status, Tiger turned professional in August,- His performance that year was impressive, but
The Nineties in America Woods, Tiger 931