Women’s rights in the United States today are evaporating — especially those won by feminists since the mid-1960s. Many are wondering how to stop the regression, hold on to past gains, and push forward. We can find answers by remembering who first organized for these rights and how they did it.

First, we should upend two myths about “second-wave” feminism. The first holds that the movement forged a clean break from the labor solidarities of the New Deal order. Historians often frame the 1970s as years when Americans became more individualistic. This narrative blames feminists for exploding the social consensus, even though that consensus subordinated women and men of color.

The second, related myth contends that feminists were disconnected from the labor movement. Here, the personal story of Feminine Mystique author Betty Friedan plays an outsized role. Friedan was a “home-grown radical” active in 1940s-era anti-fascist movements, but she hid her background as a labor journalist amid McCarthy-era paranoia. But while Friedan downplayed her labor connections, many other women emphasized their own links and brought the union movement’s lessons to the feminist struggle.