Women's History Facts

Educational Equality

In 1959, A Century of Higher Education for Women by Mabel Newcomer presented a devastating statistical account of what was happening to American women. Although the proportion of women among college students in the U.S. had increased to 47 percent by 1920, in 1958 it was down to 35.2 percent. Fewer than 10 percent of doctorates were granted to women compared with one in six in 1920 and 13 percent in 1940. Five women's colleges had shut down, and 21 had become coeducational.

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On January 23, 1972, Congress passed the Education Amendments of 1972, including Title IX, which prohibited sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funds. Introduced by Rep. Edith Green (D-OR), Title IX applied to all schools and private institutions if they accepted federal funds.

In January 1982, a report released by the National Advisory Council on Women's Educational Programs showed that in the nine years since Title IX was enforced, the number of females in inter-scholastic high school sports increased by 527% to almost one third of the total. Female athletic scholarships increased from 1% of the total in 1972 to 22% in 1982. Much slower progress was shown in jobs for women in education and for equitable funding of women's sports in college.

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On May, 17, 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in the case of North Haven Board of Education v. Bell that the law barring sex discrimination by schools and colleges receiving Federal funding covered not only the students but also the employees of those institutions. The decision was written by Justice Harry A. Blackmun and joined by Sandra Day O'Connor, William J. Brennan, Thurgood Marshall, John Paul Stevens, and Byron White.

On February 28, 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court decided 6-3 in the case of Grove City College v. Bell to accept the Reagan Administration position that Title IX banned sex discrimination only in the specific programs within an institution that directly received federal funding rather than the entire institution receiving Federal financial aid, as interpreted by Nixon, Ford, and Carter.

In January 1988, Congress finally overrode President Reagan's veto and passed the Civil Rights Resotration Act (CCRA). It reversed the 1984 Grove City decision and restored full coverage of Title IX provisions prohbiting sex discrimination in education by recipients of federal funds. The Act also restored full coverage of statutes prohibiting discrimination based on minority status, disability or age.

[ For the historical context of most of these facts and events, see our online version of the acclaimed Feminist Chronicles, the source for all facts not otherwise cited on this page]

Educational Equality | Political Equality | Equality in the Workplace