Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
In the picture: Forty-six women employees of male-dominated Newsweek magazine conduct a press conference here March 16 to announce they are suing the magazine under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Charging discrimination in jobs and hiring, they said they are ‘forced to assume a subsidiary role simply because of their sex.’ Seated (Left to Right) are employees Patricia Lynden, Mary Pleshette, Eleanor Holmes Norton and ACLU legal director Lucy Howard.
To level the playing field and protect both employees and job applicants, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which prohibited employment discrimination by sex, race, color, religion or national origin, was passed on July 2, 1964. It was also the same year that saw the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that enforces laws on civil rights against workplace discrimination. In 1978, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended to enact The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) which outlaws discrimination in employment that is based on pregnancy and childbirth.