Two of the most important pieces of legislation to pass were Title VII and Title IX. These laws forged a level playing field for women in society, education, employment, economics, and legal status. Women stepped up in massive ways, reshaping the American workplace, higher education, and the family. On the November ballot this year, Oklahoma has Bill 759 up for passage. Passage of this bill would wipe out affirmative action in Oklahoma. So before you go vote let’s look at the history and discuss the implications of this measure.

Prior to affirmative action and equal opportunity, women were relegated to pink collar jobs. Jobs were segregated by gender. Women were routinely discriminated against and denied promotions, pay raises, and benefits. Sexual harassment was a regular part of the work world. Newspaper ads advertized jobs by gender (and race). Even after passage of these laws, women had to sue for access. For example, the New York Times had no women working as editors or copywriters. When a group of female writers sued, the NY Times hired women into these positions to fulfill the court order but did not promote the women who filed the lawsuits into these positions. Flight attendants were called stewardesses. They were routinely fired at age 30. Getting married or pregnant cost them their jobs. Most US colleges did not allow women to enroll, or if they did, they limited which degrees (home economics) they could earn.

As you read the articles for this assignment, think about what it would have been like to be a young woman before passage of these laws. What would your life be like? What opportunities would you have had? Even with passage of all this legislation, have women taken full advantage of the laws? Are we embracing our strengths to our full potential? Is it time to abolish affirmative action? Have we pushed as far as legally viable? It just needs to be a little more than a paragraph