Since its passage on June 23, 1972, there have been repeated attacks on Title IX, the civil rights law that guarantees equal educational opportunities to women and girls. After eight years of Bush administration regulations limiting the impact and effectiveness of Title IX, there is now an opportunity to reinvigorate the law and once again prohibit sex discrimination in educational programs receiving federal funds.
“We are well into the 21st century, yet women ski jumpers still are not permitted to compete at their sport’s highest level,” said Kim Gandy in a statement issued at a Women’s Ski Jumping USA rally held in Vancouver, Canada.
NOW is proud to open its national conference in Detroit, Michigan on July 13. The last National NOW Conference in the Motor City was 30 years ago, and women have gained much ground during that time. With the inspiration of thrilling speakers, the wide range of exhilarating workshops, and the energy of women nationwide hungry for change, this year’s NOW conference is sure to make a lasting impact on the struggle for women’s equality.
This morning the U.S. Supreme Court split 5-4 in two cases regarding the use of racial classifications to prevent segregation of public schools in Louisville, Kentucky and Seattle, Washington. The majority ruling struck down the voluntary plans designed to increase racial balance in those school districts.
Today the National Organization for Women and our allies are calling attention to the persistent wage gap between women and men by observing Equal Pay Day. This year we pause on April 24 — symbolizing the day that women workers finally “get out of the red” and their 2006-2007 earnings finally equal men’s earnings from last year alone.