Stability and Innovation in the Women's Movement: A Comparison of Two Movement Organizations

This paper examines the effects of organizational structure and ideology on the mobilization and tactics of social movement organizations (SMOs). Documentary and interview data on two heal movement organizations, the Chicago Women's Liberation Union (CWLU) and the Chicago chapter of the National Organization for Women (Chicago NOW), are used to provide a detailed account of the ways in which SMOs deal with organizational problems. I argue that the informal, decentralized structure of the now defunct CWLU, together with its ideological approach, encouraged strategic and tactical innovation, but undermined organizational maintenance. Chicago NOW's more formalized and centralized structure facilitated organizational maintenance, but led to a narrowing of strategies and tactics. Successful social movements are likely to include both types of organizational structures.