(WOMENSENEWS)–1964. Rep. Martha Griffiths of Michigan maneuvers in Congressional deliberations about the U.S. Civil Rights Act so that it includes women as a protected class, barring discrimination on the basis of gender as well as race, religion, color and national origin.
Title VII of this act remains the bulwark for non-discrimination in hiring, access to credit, job advancement and other areas covered by the landmark legislation. In 1992, after bitter contention, Congress reauthorized the Civil Rights Act, and moderate Senate Republicans were crucial to the winning compromise.
For more information:
United States Civil Rights Law:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/civil_rights.html
