Today (July 14) is International Non-Binary People’s Day.  According to a June 2021 study conducted by the Williams Institute, 1.2 million adults in the United States identify as non-binary.[1] “Non-binary” is an identity embraced by people who do not identify exclusively as men or women.[2]  A non-binary individual may identify as both a man and […]

Workers and students who experience civil rights violations have a plethora of legal tools at their disposal to seek accountability and relief—ranging from constitutional, to statutory, to tort claims. But the courthouse doors have long been closed to one group, whose exclusion from remedies by the government which they defend is particularly jarring: members of […]

In November 2020, the New York State Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts released its 2020 Gender Survey, detailing the treatment of women attorneys, litigants, and court employees in the state court system. While the study found that the treatment of women has improved markedly in the last few decades, it also found that […]

On August 14, 2020, the Department of Education’s final regulations regarding sexual harassment under Title IX went into effect. This marks the final step in a controversial process that began in November 2018, when President Trump’s Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos submitted a proposal to drastically overhaul many aspects of the Title IX guidelines instituted […]

As many schools go fully virtual this fall, working parents are faced with many questions about caring for and educating children while working.  Working moms also face an additional question: will my boss perceive me as less committed to my work because I am a woman with children?  Unfortunately, too often the answer is “yes.” […]

According to a policy brief by the UN Secretary-General published on April 9, 2020, “across every sphere, from health to the economy, security to social protection, the impacts of COVID-19 are exacerbated for women and girls simply by virtue of their sex.” The policy brief concludes that of the nearly 2.7 billion workers impacted by […]

Imagine this scenario: a corporation runs health spas, each of which is divided into a men’s division and a women’s division that operate on alternate days.  Male managers run the men’s division, while female managers run the women’s division.  Because there are far more female customers interested in spa services, the corporation decides to compensate […]

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits colleges, universities, and schools that receive federal funding from engaging in sex discrimination.  Like all legal claims, there are strict time limitations (the “statute of limitations”) within which a Title IX claim must be filed.  Because Title IX does not explicitly set a statute of limitations, […]

“In 1963, Congress enacted the Equal Pay Act with a mandate as simple as it was profound: equal pay for equal work.” So begins the opinion in Rizo v. Yovino, a recent Ninth Circuit case holding that prior pay may not be used to justify a pay discrepancy between men and women—even if it is […]

These are extraordinary times for the healthcare system in the United States.  As of this writing, at least 206,233 Americans are known to have been infected with the coronavirus, and at least 4,576 of those individuals have died.  Of the Americans who have tested positive for the virus, at least 83,887 are from New York, […]

Graduate school can be an exciting time in a person’s life.  Especially if you start a graduate program immediately after completing college, you can expect to spend the remaining years of your 20s honing your areas of academic expertise, completing a dissertation, and building meaningful professional connections with prominent faculty and staff in your chosen […]

Where in the world are working women equal to men? According to an international report released by the World Bank earlier this month, the nations that make this esteemed list are Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Sweden, and Canada. These nations had a perfect “100” score according to the World Bank’s Women, Business and […]

In honor of Equal Pay Day, four women currently engaged in a gender discrimination lawsuit against the national labor and employment firm Ogletree Deakins opened up about the struggles and rewards of challenging pay discrimination, and the impact of women breaking the silence. As changemakers seeking to reform the entrenched legal industry, plaintiffs Dawn Knepper, […]

The Federal Fair Housing Act, along with many state and local laws, prohibits gender discrimination in housing, including sexual harassment. It is illegal for landlords, property managers, real estate agents, and maintenance staff to demand sexual favors in exchange for access to housing or repairs. They also cannot create a hostile environment for tenants based […]

The #MeToo Movement continues to call attention to victims of sexual violence and discrimination. A chorus of survivors’ voices grows. More and more survivors are filing sex discrimination lawsuits to vindicate their rights in court and hold accountable both the perpetrators who harmed them and the institutions that failed to protect them. Often it is […]