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Sex-Equity Legislation in Education: The State as Promoter of Women’s Rights

University of Southern California

This study examines core federal legislation addressing gender inequalities in education (Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, the Women’s Educational Equity Act [WEEA], and several vocational education acts). It discusses the objectives of these laws and assesses the influence of this legislation on six elements of the educational system, ranging from educational access to the presence of women in administrative positions. The evidence indicates that women made significant gains in access to educational institutions as students rather than as educational administrators or university professors. Field of study choices still reflect unequal gender distributions; curriculum content and teacher training have been mildly affected. While it is difficult to isolate impacts of legislation from those of parallel social forces over a period of 20 years, shortcomings common to each of these equity-focused laws, such as their limited funding, weak enforcement, and reliance on voluntary efforts by educational institutions, have hindered the achievement of dramatic shifts toward the anticipated goals. As a key mediator between women’s demands and the practices of educational institutions, the federal government has played a reluctant and primarily symbolic role in efforts to attain gender equity. The study concludes with an identification of the types of studies, along with their methodologies and research designs, that remain to be conducted to further explicate the role of the State in gender structuring and sexual politics.

Review of Educational Research, Vol. 63, No. 4, 379-407 (1993)
DOI: 10.3102/00346543063004379


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