"A woman is handicapped by her sex, and handicaps society, either by slavishly copying the pattern of man's advance in the professions, or by refusing to compete with man at all"

This quote by Betty Friedan speaks with the difficulties that ladies have actually dealt with in the past and continue to face in today. Friedan is recommending that women are at a disadvantage due to their gender, which this disadvantage can manifest itself in 2 methods. The very first is that females might feel the requirement to comply with the very same standards of success as men, and attempt to compete with them in the very same way. The second is that women may feel so overwhelmed by the challenge of competing with males that they may select to not compete at all. In either case, Friedan is recommending that society is handicapped by the gender inequality that exists. She is calling for a more equitable society where females are given the same chances as men, and are not kept back by their gender.