Gender equity
All 16 modern US presidents ranked by their net score on this single sub-criterion. Good and harm are scored 0–10 independently; net is good minus harm. Click a name for the full scorecard.
Title IX (1972) — major federal action prohibiting sex discrimination in education. Equal Rights Amendment passed Congress under Nixon (1972). Equal Employment Opportunity Act (1972) extended Title VII coverage.
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- good·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Title IX transformed federal anti-discrimination law in education, with major downstream effects on women's athletics, professional schools, and education access.
congress.gov ↗
Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act 2009 (first signed law). Substantial female Cabinet representation (Clinton, Yellen). Title IX expansion guidance (Dear Colleague letter). VAWA reauthorization 2013.
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- good·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Ledbetter Act extended pay-discrimination filing deadline; 2013 VAWA reauthorization extended protections to LGBTQ and Native American victims; substantial gender-equity advance.
congress.gov ↗
Violence Against Women Act 1994. Family Medical Leave Act 1993. Madeleine Albright as first female Secretary of State (1997). Many female appointees.
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- good·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
VAWA established federal framework for prosecuting gender-based violence; FMLA provided 12 weeks unpaid medical/family leave protection.
congress.gov ↗
Civil Rights Act 1964 Title VII included sex discrimination. EEOC enforcement weak initially. Executive Order 11375 (1967) extended affirmative action to women.
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Title VII of Civil Rights Act 1964 prohibited sex discrimination in employment; EO 11375 extended federal contracting affirmative action to women.
congress.gov ↗
Strong support for ERA ratification (ultimately failed 1982). Title IX enforcement expanded. Pregnancy Discrimination Act 1978. Carter appointed unprecedented number of women to administration.
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Pregnancy Discrimination Act extended Title VII to prohibit pregnancy-based employment discrimination.
congress.gov ↗
President's Commission on Status of Women (1961, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt). Equal Pay Act 1963.
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Commission report (1963) documented systematic gender discrimination and laid groundwork for subsequent legislation including Equal Pay Act and Title VII gender protections.
archives.gov ↗
Frances Perkins, first female Cabinet member (Sec of Labor, 1933-1945). Eleanor Roosevelt's prominent public role. Women's wartime workforce participation enabled by federal contract policies. Era-typical otherwise.
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- good·Tier 1·Historical record·Unverified
Frances Perkins was the first woman appointed to a US presidential Cabinet, serving Labor for FDR's full tenure.
dol.gov ↗
ERA ratification stalled under Ford. Title IX enforcement continued. Betty Ford openly pro-choice and pro-ERA.
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- good·Tier 2·Historical record·Unverified
Title IX enforcement continued during Ford term; Betty Ford's public advocacy normalized first-lady political voice.
Title IX implementation 1974-1977; Betty Ford public advocacy
Era-typical. Equal Pay legislation not enacted (came under Kennedy). Era of suburban-domesticity cultural norm.
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- harm·Tier 2·Academic·Unverified
Women's labor-force participation flat at ~32-34% during Eisenhower years; no major federal gender-equity legislation.
Era women's labor-force participation data (BLS); Goldin, 'Understanding the Gender Gap' (1990)
Era-typical. Post-war pushed women out of wartime workforce. No major federal gender-equity action.
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- harm·Tier 2·Academic·Unverified
The Truman era saw active federal and cultural campaigns to return women to domestic roles after wartime workforce mobilization, era-typical for the period.
May, 'Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era' (1988)
Sandra Day O'Connor appointment (1981) — first woman on Supreme Court. Otherwise opposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA expired 1982). Cut Title IX enforcement.
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- good·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Reagan's O'Connor appointment broke a 192-year gender barrier on SCOTUS; the administration simultaneously opposed Equal Rights Amendment ratification.
supremecourt.gov ↗
Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State (2005). Lily Ledbetter case (decided against equity) preceded Obama's act. Restricted abortion rights (Partial-Birth Abortion Ban). Mixed.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban first major federal abortion restriction since Roe; Ledbetter ruling required prompt EEOC complaint, contested under Obama-era legislation.
congress.gov ↗
Anita Hill hearings (October 1991) exposed gender-equity gaps. Family and Medical Leave Act vetoed twice (signed by Clinton 1993). Reproductive rights restrictions continued.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Anita Hill testimony during Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings spotlighted sexual harassment in workplace; Bush vetoed FMLA twice (Clinton signed 1993).
senate.gov ↗
Dobbs decision (June 2022) overturning Roe v. Wade — Biden could not prevent. Pledged Roe-codification legislation (failed). VP Harris and many female senior appointees. Title IX rule revisions (later partially blocked).
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Dobbs decision under Biden term overturned Roe v. Wade ending federal abortion right; Biden administration unable to legislate replacement; women's reproductive rights substantially curtailed in many states post-Dobbs.
supreme.justia.com ↗
A New York federal civil jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll (May 9, 2023; affirmed on appeal); a second jury awarded $83.3M in defamation damages (January 26, 2024). Separately, Trump has faced numerous unadjudicated allegations of sexual misconduct (including the 'Access Hollywood' recording released in 2016 and the Stormy Daniels matter, which was the subject of a separate New York criminal proceeding). Title IX administrative policy was weakened. Reproductive rights were rolled back through judicial appointments. The Women's March (January 21, 2017) was reported as the largest single-day protest in US history.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
A federal civil jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll (May 9, 2023; $5M verdict, affirmed on appeal); a second jury awarded $83.3M in defamation damages (January 26, 2024). Title IX administrative changes weakened campus sexual-assault procedural protections.
Carroll v. Trump, S.D.N.Y. verdicts May 9, 2023 and January 26, 2024; Title IX policy changes 2020
Title IX rule revisions reversing Biden trans protections. Federal abortion-rights enforcement eliminated. Comstock Act revival threats. Anti-DEI affecting women's federal programs.
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- harm·Tier 1·Primary document·Unverified
Trump T2 revoked Biden-era reproductive rights executive orders; Title IX rule revisions reversed transgender student protections; pattern of gender-equity policy reversal.
Title IX rule revisions 2025; Biden-era reproductive rights EOs revoked