Women’s rights on campus of both faculty and students began to be addressed in 1964 when a group of women founded the Center for the Education of Women. Their goal was to help women who were trying to complete their education after a time away from school, those who were trying to get a job, and those who were trying to balance family life with work life -- an issue that unfortunately still exists today for many women (1).

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        However, in addition to the student population, there was a large gap at the University of Michigan when it came to the hiring of women staff and faculty. In the mid-70s, the director of the University’s Office of Affirmative Action Nellie Varner found two major issues with the University’s representation and employment of women on campus. The first was that the majority of women who worked for the University were in “lower ranks,” such as “clerks and administrative assistants.” And the second was that women’s employment was being terminated at a “disproportionate rate” to men, in addition to departments not setting or following goals to add female faculty members (2). The University’s excuse? There were not enough women who wanted to work in academia or were qualified to do so. However, they were entirely wrong in their assumption, representing a larger issue with the University’s apathy towards supporting women in academia. Ironically, during the same year the University was quick to celebrate International Women’s Year, inviting feminist writers like Betty Friedan and Ti Grace Atkinson to speak on campus. In addition, the University gave honorary degrees to women, yet would not hire them (2) (after all, it’s all about the brand, the brand, the brand).

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        In order to continue to combat not only the lack of female student support on campus, but also female staff on campus, the Women of Color Task Force was organized. The task force was set in place in order to address the concerns raised regarding lack of female employment across University departments, as well as development for the female staff and faculty members already working for the University (2). Although this task force was just a start towards greater equality and representation of women employed by the University of Michigan, it did spark an era of change within the student population. For example, the 1975-76 Medical School class was 28% female, along with a quarter of the Law School class being female (2). These numbers were unprecedented and showcased the University’s slow, yet impactful growth towards greater equality.