Anti-discrimination law
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the first major development in anti-discrimination law in the US, though prior civil rights legislation (such as the Civil Rights Act of 1957) addressed some forms of discrimination, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was much broader, providing protections for race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the areas of voting, education, employment, and public accommodations. This landmark legislation led the way for other federal legislation, which expanded upon the protected classes and forms of discrimination prohibited under federal legislation, such as the Fair Housing Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act. These protections have also been expanded through the courts interpretation of these pieces of legislation. For example, the 7th and 2nd circuit courts have both ruled that employment discrimination based on sexual orientation is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In addition to federal legislation, there are numerous state and local laws that address discrimination that is not covered by these laws.
Bernice Sandler
While reading a report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, she discovered an executive order that prohibited federal contractors from discrimination on a variety of factors that was recently amended to include sex discrimination. In 1965, President Johnson signed Executive Order 11246, which was originally focused on, "equal employment opportunity in Government employment, employment by Federal contractors and subcontractors and employment under Federally assisted construction contracts regardless of race, creed, color or national origin." In 1967, President Johnson, amended Executive Order 11246 through Executive Order 11375 which specifically added sex discrimination as a category protected by the previous Executive Order. This minor amendment by President Johnson, paved the way forward for Sandler, providing her with the legal footing necessary to bring legal complaints against non-compliant higher education institutions.