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Felice N. SchwartzAmerican writer, lawyer and feminist
Date of Birth: 16.01.1925
Country: ![]() |
Content:
- Biography of Felice N. Schwartz
- Early Life and Education
- Advocacy for African American Students
- Advocacy for Working Women
- Writing Career and Controversy
Biography of Felice N. Schwartz
Felice N. Schwartz, an American writer, lawyer, and feminist, gained recognition as the author of the controversial article "Management Women and the New Facts of Life," published in the Harvard Business Review in 1969. Throughout her career, Schwartz founded two civil rights organizations dedicated to promoting national interests. In 1945, she established the National Scholarship Service and Fund for Negro Students (NSSFNS), which provided educational opportunities for African American students in higher education institutions. In 1962, Schwartz founded the national organization Catalyst, which aimed to assist women in finding employment. She served as the organization's president for three decades.

Early Life and Education
Felice N. Schwartz, born Felice Nierenberg, was born on January 16, 1925, to businessman Albert Nierenberg and his wife Rose. She attended Cooperstown High School in Cooperstown, New York, and went on to attend Smith College, graduating in 1945. A few years later, she married Irving Schwartz, a physician, and together they raised three children.
Advocacy for African American Students
Following her college graduation, Schwartz became concerned about the low enrollment of African American students in higher education. As one of the few Jewish students in her school, she empathized with the isolation experienced by African Americans at Smith College. In response, Schwartz founded the NSSFNS, an organization that petitioned colleges and universities to open their doors to African American candidates and provide them with scholarships. In 1951, Schwartz stepped away from NSSFNS to focus on her family business, which she successfully turned around after her father's passing.
Advocacy for Working Women
After experiencing firsthand the challenges of being a woman in a leadership position, Schwartz decided to fully dedicate herself to motherhood after the birth of her second child. She took a break from work for nearly nine years, during which time she realized the significant barriers faced by educated mothers seeking to rejoin the workforce or find new employment opportunities.
In 1962, Schwartz reached out to several college presidents, and together they formed the board of directors for the new organization Catalyst. The mission of Catalyst was to unlock the untapped potential of educated women who aimed to balance their careers and families. Schwartz served as the president of Catalyst for approximately 30 years until her resignation in 1993.
Writing Career and Controversy
Throughout her career, Schwartz demonstrated her skill as a prolific writer. One of her most well-known works, the article "Management Women and the New Facts of Life," was published in the Harvard Business Review in 1989. The article suggested that companies created two career tracks for women employees: one for those who desired to balance their careers and family life and another for those whose careers were their primary focus. The publication sparked heated debates after The New York Times ridiculed Schwartz's concept, labeling it as the "Mommy Track" for women who supposedly settled for lower positions after having children.
Schwartz, however, maintained that her article had been misunderstood, stating, "What I said then and still say is that women face many, many barriers in the workplace that men do not." In her work, Schwartz argued that the male class held the top positions, leaving women's talents underutilized and in need of rectification.
Overall, Felice N. Schwartz made significant contributions to advancing civil rights, promoting equality for women in the workforce, and challenging societal norms through her writings and advocacy efforts.