Patsy Mink

One larger attempt to take on these issues was Title IX, a revolutionary civil rights law that went into effect in the 1970s.

Title IX was groundbreaking legislation passed in 1972, primarily through the efforts of Indiana Senator Birch Bayh, working alongside US Representatives Patsy Mink and Edith Green.

Title IX is what made possible most of the girls' sports teams in US schools.

It proclaims, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." It is the basis under which demands to deal with sexual assault on college and university campuses have been brought.

Long story short about Title IX, there's a lot there.

Title IX was created and pushed through by lecturer Bernice Sandler, Congresswoman Edith Starrett-Green, Hawaii Democrat Patsy Mink, and Republican Senators Birch Bay of Indiana and Ted Stevens of Alaska.

Each had faced direct or indirect discrimination on the basis of sex in academia and government and other places, and they wanted to change the laws around this issue.

So Senator Birch Bay told Congress, quote, The desire of many schools not to waste a quote-unquote man's place on a woman stems from such stereotype notions.