THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT
Betty Talkington
September 3, 1920 – June 13, 1998
“I want my grandchildren to be able to get any job they want, regardless of their sex.”
A veteran worker for women in the labor movement. Former director of women’s activities of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. Served on the Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women Iowa, formed in October of 1963. One of the founders of the National Organization for Women, June 1966. Alternate delegate to 1972 Democratic National Convention from Iowa. Iowa delegate to the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Active in both the 1980 and 1992 Iowa ERA campaigns, serving as a member of the ERA IOWA 1992 Board.
More About Betty:
- Obituary
- Iowa Labor Movement Loses a Caring Friend, June 15, 1998
- Betty Talkington receives The Cristine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice, 1995 page 11
- Betty Talkington oral history interview, May 5, 1983, Iowa Labor History Oral Project, Inc.
- The Voice of Union Women, July 1973
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- National Organization for Women, Honoring Our Founders & Pioneers
- Cited in Barbara Love’s book, Feminists Who Changed America 1963-1975, page 455
