Maura McNiel (April 11, 1921 – July 18, 2020) was an American

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

whose actions paved the way for

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

, modern

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

, advocacy on behalf of abused women, promotion of the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...

, and passage of

Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...

. McNiel was active for over forty years in the Dallas women's movement.

Early life

Maura McNiel was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

on April 11, 1921 where she learned the importance of

individual rights Individual rights, also known as natural rights, are rights held by individuals by virtue of being human. Some theists believe individual rights are bestowed by God. An individual right is a moral claim to freedom of action. Group rights, also k ...

from the integration of Minneapolis area schools. In 1941, she attended

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in Minneapolis. Moving to the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

area in the early 1950s, she became active within Dallas political and feminist groups, and was instrumental in the founding of the Women's Center of Dallas (now closed). An ardent and

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feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

in the 1960s, McNiel joined several women's groups focused on expanding women's roles and eliminating prevalent

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

s. She became a member of the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

and

People for the American Way People for the American Way (PFAW ) is a progressive advocacy group in the United States. Organized as a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, PFAW was registered in 1981 by the television producer Norman Lear, a self-described liberal who founde ...

, seeking to expand her opportunities in the working world as a recent college graduate. Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, McNiel witnessed changes like

desegregation Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws ...

, which motivated her to improve the rights and benefits of the

disenfranchised Disfranchisement, also disenfranchisement (which has become more common since 1982) or voter disqualification, is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing someo ...

Personal life

She married Thomas H. McNiel on February 1, 1952; they were divorced in Dallas on July 16, 1991.

Involvement in Dallas politics

McNiel became very involved in the Dallas feminist movement in the late 1960s through the 1980s. Her involvement in Women for Change, the Domestic Violence Interaction Alliance of Dallas (DVIA), and EXPLORE — a women's identity group — expanded her interest in local politics. McNiel actively lobbied in

Dallas City Hall Dallas City Hall is the seat of municipal government of the city of Dallas, Texas, United States. It is located at 1500 Marilla Street in the Government District, Dallas, Government District of downtown Dallas. The current building, the city's ...

for the rights and protections of battered women, which led to the creation of the Women's Center of Dallas — a resource for local women, most notably financial assistance, legal assistance, housing, and job training to victims of

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

. The Women's Center in Dallas was modeled after established organizations nationwide which acted as a means to remove battered women from troubled homes, and into a safe haven of their own.

Involvement in national politics

Maura McNiel also worked for the passage of the

of 1972 by speaking at local assemblies and rallies across

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, However, the amendment fell three short of the number of states needed to ratify it. McNiel participated in other campaigns that proved more successful, such as the passage of Title IX in 1972. While not providing the blanket coverage, the Equal Rights Amendment would have, Title IX did grant the rights of educational freedom for women that would have resounding repercussions, expanding into the creation of more women's sports teams and athletic

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

s at the collegiate level.

Awards

*In 1978, McNiel won the Women Helping Women award from the Women's Center of Dallas. *In 1984, the Women Helping Women awards were renamed "The Maura's" in honor of McNiel's contributions to the advancement of women in society. *In 1985, McNiel was nominated for admission into the

Texas Women's Hall of Fame The Texas Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1984 by the Governor's Commission on Women. The honorees are selected biennially from submissions from the public. The honorees must be either native Texans or a resident of Texas at the time of t ...

. *In 1985, the Women's Center of Dallas renamed their annual Women Helping Women awards to the honorary Maura Women Helping Women awards.

Death

She died on July 18, 2020, aged 99.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNiel, Maura 1921 births 2020 deaths Activists from Minnesota Activists from Texas American women's rights activists Politicians from Dallas Politicians from Minneapolis Stanford University alumni University of Minnesota alumni