Sexual discrimination in the workplace and in education remains an issue for women, especially women or color and sexual minority women. You do not have to endure sex-based discrimination; there are resources to help you to seek justice and heal from your experience.

The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals against employment discrimination on the basis of sex as well as race, color, national origin, and religion. Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations, as well as to the federal government. It is unlawful to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of his/her sex in regard to hiring, termination, promotion, compensation, job training, or any other term, condition, or privilege of employment. Title VII also prohibits employment decisions based on stereotypes and assumptions about abilities, traits, or the performance of individuals on the basis of sex. Title VII prohibits both intentional discrimination and neutral job policies that disproportionately exclude individuals on the basis of sex and that are not job related. Title VII's prohibitions against sex-based discrimination also cover sexual harassment and pregnancy based discrimination.

84.6% of the 12,025 sexual harassment charges received in 2006 by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission were filed by women.

The above information was adapted from the Equal Opportunity Commission, http://www.eeoc.gov/types/sex.html

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires that men and women be given equal pay for equal work in the same establishment. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal. Title VII also prohibits compensation discrimination on the basis of sex. http://www.eeoc.gov/types/sex.html

However, in 2005, the most recent year for which data is available, women continue to earn only 77 cents on the dollar to their male counterparts. To match men's earnings for 2005, women have to work from January 2006 to April 2007 - an extra four months. http://www.aauw.org/issue_advocacy/actionpages/payequity.cfm

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. However, sexual harassment remains the most common Title IX complaint and it is well known that women are under-represented in the science and technology fields and continue to earn less than men upon completion of their degrees. http://www.ed.gov/policy/rights/guid/ocr/sexoverview.html

The following ODU policies are in place to uphold this policy of non-discrimination in the educational environment for students, faculty and staff at ODU.

Discrimination Policy: (The following is a summary of the Old Dominion University Discrimination Policy) The purpose of the ODU Discrimination Policy is to promote equal employment, equal educational and social opportunities for Old Dominion University employees and students by providing a means for the internal resolution of complaints of discrimination on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation or political affiliation.

Sexual Harassment: The ODU Sexual Harassment Policy protects all students, faculty and staff. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. Sexual harassment is a form of sexual discrimination that violates Title VII. Report all sexual harassment complaints to the ODU Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Office, 683-3141.

If you think you are a victim of sexual discrimination, the following resources will be helpful in seeking justice and healing.