On n  ​​January 9, 1974, President Gerald Ford issued an executive order to create  a National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year "to promote equality between women and men."  Many events were held over the following two years; most notable was the National Women's Conference.

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Over 20,000 people gathered in Houston, Texas from November 18 to 21, 1977, for the National Women's Conference.  They celebrated International Women's Year and identified goals for women for the next decade. This was the first and only women's conference to be sponsored by the federal government.

 

The conference was introduced as a bill by Representative Bella Abzug (D. NY) in early 1975 and signed into law by President Ford.  Congress set aside five million dollars to finance state meetings and the national conference.  Over 150,000 people attended the state meetings and elected 2,005 delegates to attend the national conference.  They debated 16 resolutions suggested by the National Commission based on the report "To Form a More Perfect Union."

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The focus of the national conference was to create and pass a National Plan of Action, based on recommendations from the state meetings. The final plan had 26 planks, including better enforcement of existing laws, full employment, peace, and disarmament.

 

There was a good amount of ceremony and symbolism at the conference. On September 29 a torch was lit at Seneca Falls, New York, which was the site of the first women's rights convention held on July 19, 1848.  It was carried by a relay of runners the 2,600 miles to Houston and arrived the day before the conference began.  A new Declaration of Sentiments to parallel the one passed by the 1848 convention was written by Maya Angelou and accompanied the torch on its journey.  The torch was presented to three First Ladies at the official opening of the conference.  The First Ladies signed the new Declaration and then passed it on to be signed by thousands more attending the conference.

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The United Nations proclaimed 1975 to be International Women's Year and later extended it to the decade.  In 1977, President Jimmy Carter chose a new commission and appointed Bella Abzug to head it.