Gender Discrimination in the United States

In addition to race, discrimination based on sex is also prohibited by the Equal Protection Clause. Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment refers to “persons,” not men or women. However, it was not until 1971 that the Supreme Court held that a law discriminating against women violated the Fourteenth Amendment Instead, the Court’s early decisions reflected stereotypes that limited the roles of women. In Bradwellv. Illinois (1873), the first Supreme Court case to challenge discrimination against women, the Court upheld a state law forbidding women to become lawyers. According to Justice Joseph P. Bradley, the “law of the Creator” made being a wife and mother “the paramount destiny and mission of woman.”

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Supreme Court upheld state protective legislation that created limited hours and working conditions for women on the grounds that they were the weaker sex.

Another Equal Protection issue is reapportionment, in which state and federal legislative seats are reallocated based on changes in population.

Many state constitutions require reapportionment, as does the U.S. Constitution for the House of Representatives (discussed in more detail under Article I, Section 2). But when population shifted from rural to urban areas after 1900, state legislators were reluctant to reapportion themselves out of jobs. Consequently, rural areas were vastly overrepresented in state legislatures.

The Supreme Court had traditionally avoided such “political questions” that it said should be solved by the legislative branch of government, not the judiciary. But in Baker v. Can (1962), the Court held that federal courts could decide reapportionment cases based on the Equal Protection Clause.

In Grayv. Sanders (1963), Justice William Douglas wrote for the Court: “The conception of political equality… can mean only one thing-one person, one vote.” Moreover, the Court ruled in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) that both houses of a state legislature, unlike the U. S. Congress, must by apportioned according to population. During the 1990s, the Supreme Court ruled in a series of cases that, absent a “compelling interest,” race cannot be the primary factor when redrawing the boundaries of legislative districts after reapportionment.

Gender Discrimination (Fair Housing Rights)

This section introduces, discusses and describes the basics of gender discrimination. Then, cross references and a brief overview about Fair Housing Rights is provided. Finally, the subject of Housing in relation with gender discrimination is examined. Note that a list of cross references, bibliography and other resources appears at the end of this entry.