ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016 AND THEREAFTER -FILE - In this May 16, 1976 file photo, an estimated 10,000 demonstrators march to the Capitol building in Springfield, Ill., to support the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Six years later, the amendment's June 30, 1982 deadline passed without ratification. Only 35 states, three short of those necessary, endorsed it. (AP Photo/File)
ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016 AND THEREAFTER -FILE - In this May 16, 1976 file photo, an estimated 10,000 demonstrators march to the Capitol building in Springfield, Ill., to support the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Six years later, the amendment's June 30, 1982 deadline passed without ratification. Only 35 states, three short of those necessary, endorsed it. (AP Photo/File) Credit: Anonymous

Fifty years ago, when a small group of activists founded the National Organization for Women, the immediate issue that motivated them was sex discrimination in employment. They were irate that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was refusing to ban “Help Wanted Male” and “Help Wanted Female” job advertising.

Typical were ads seeking a “well-groomed gal” for a job as a receptionist.

Flash forward to today: Women comprise close to 50 percent of enrollment in U.S. medical schools and law schools. One-third of federal judges are women, compared with just a handful in the 1960s. The U.S military is opening all combat jobs to women.

At NOW and elsewhere in the diverse ranks of the feminist movement, there’s deep pride in these changes, but also a consensus that the 50th anniversary – to be celebrated June 23 – is not an occ asion to declare victory.

“The battle goes on,” said Eleanor Smeal, a former president of NOW who heads the Feminist Majority Foundation. “So many of the things we fought for have been achieved, but we still do not have full equality.”

Among the issues viewed as unfinished business: a wage gap that favors men over women, the persistent scourge of sexual assault and domestic violence, and the push in many states to reduce access to legal abortion.

Once virtually alone as a national, multi-issue feminist group, NOW shares the activist stage today with a multitude of other players – ranging from youthful online organizers to groups focused on specific issues such as abortion rights, campus rape and workplace equity. NOW’s membership and revenues are down from its peak years, and some younger feminists wonder if it is losing some relevance.

The situation was very different back in 1966. NOW’s founding was a pivotal moment in the rebuilding of a vibrant feminist movement in the U.S. after a period of relative dormancy in the 1940s and ‘50s.