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Know Your Rights

As of 2021, only 18% of women workers have active careers in STEM, compared to the male population’s 30%. This disparity creates an environment for women that can be unpleasant, discouraging, or even harmful, with stereotypes and biases running rampant. Women’s concerns or ideas may be more frequently disregarded. Even worse, in the event of an emergency, women may be forced to abandon these career paths altogether.

Knowing your rights means understanding the paths that have been set down by the women before you to navigate these messy scenarios. Both in university and in your career, it’s important to know what your protections are, what to do when those protections fail or become untenable, and how to plan your next steps.

UCF

The University of Central Florida is a recipient of federal financial assistance. This makes them beholden to Title IX, a federal civil rights law that offers protection against gender-based discrimination. 

Title IX

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance[.]

The purpose of Title IX is to protect against cases of “sex-based harassment, sexual violence, pregnancy discrimination, failure to provide equal athletic opportunity, sex-based discrimination in a school’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses and programs, discriminatory application of dress code policies and/or enforcement, and retaliation.” (ed.gov)

Title IX History

Prior to Title IX, women’s applications to colleges and jobs were routinely denied on the basis that they would soon have children and leave the job market, making men the safer investment. 

There were many attempts to solve this dilemma inside and outside of the federal government, including executive order 11375 of 1967 forbidding discrimination in national contracts, no less than 269 complaints by Bernice Sandler against colleges and universities, and a legislative draft amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by Representative Edith Green.

These events laid the groundwork for Title IX, which would be advocated for and written by Senator Birch Bayh and officially signed into law by President Nixon on June 23rd, 1972. Representative Patsy Mink, who had been a strong supporter of the amendment, would step forward to protect Title IX for the next thirty years.

Title IX in Action

Case Resolutions Regarding Sex Discrimination | U.S. Department of Education 

July 14, 2021 Title IX Case Study #1 Plaintiff v. Orange University Plaintif  

In response to anti-discrimination laws like this, UCF has several departments and resources available to students. Policies include:

These resources are all included under UCF’s Let’s be Clear program:

  • Victim Services (Confidential)
  • Counseling and Psychological Services
  • Student Health Services
  • Student Care Services/UCF Cares
  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP) (Confidential)
  • Office of Institutional Equity (OIE)

References