SEX-EQUITY LEGISLATION IN EDUCATION - THE STATE AS PROMOTER OF WOMENSRIGHTS

This study examines core federal legislation addressing gender inequal ities in education (Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972 , the Women's Educational Equity Act [WEEA], and several vocational ed ucation acts). It discusses the objectives of these laws and assesses the influence of this legislation on six elements of the educational s ystem, ranging from educational access to the presence of women in adm inistrative position. The evidence indicates that women made significa nt gains in access to educational institutions as students rather than as educational administrators or university professors. Field of stud y choices still reflect unequal gender distributions; curriculum conte nt and teacher training have been mildly affected. While it is difficu lt to isolate impacts of legislation from those of parallel social for ces over a period of 20 years, shortcomings common to each of these eq uity-focused laws, such as their limited funding, weak enforcement, an d reliance on voluntary efforts by educational institutions, have hind ered the achievement of dramatic shifts toward the anticipated goals. As a key mediator between women's demands and the practices of educati onal institutions, the federal government has played a reluctant and p rimarily symbolic role in efforts to attain gender equity. The study c oncludes with an identification of the types of studies, along with th eir methodologies and research designs, that remain to be conducted to further explicate the role of the State in gender structuring and sex ual politics.