The National Women’s Law Center, based in Washington, D.C., has recently formed a network of over 70 attorneys from around the nation in the name of fighting sex discrimination. Known as the Legal Network for Gender Equity, the network aims to help cases of sex discrimination – especially in a new era and presidency – when many progressive protections against such discrimination seem to be disappearing.
The network was announced by the President of the National Women’s Law Center, Fatima Goss Graves, who noted that the urgent need for such a network has been exacerbated by the recent increase in sexual harassment or hostility cases in the workplace, school, and healthcare systems.
The Legal Network for Gender Equity will serve as a way to help women and girls access legal resources, as well as attorneys who can take on their cases. Though currently comprised of lawyers from 15 states, Goss Graves has emphasized her hopes that the network might expand to all 50 states.
Accompanying the announcement of the network was a criticism of the federal rollbacks on sex discrimination protection by the Trump administration. Such regressive actions include increasing the standards of evidence necessary when reporting sexual assault on campuses, blocking the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from collecting pay data from large companies, and allowing large companies to stop providing their female employees with free birth control.
At a time like this, legal support for women is more important than ever. Aside from the actions of the administration, the formation of the Legal Network for Gender Equity is particularly relevant in the midst of various scandals of harassment or discrimination against women, from Harvey Weinstein’s exposed record of sexual harassment and assault to gender discrimination allegations made against companies like Uber.
The National Women’s Law Center as a whole has been vital in pushing public policy for the benefit of women everywhere since its establishment in 1972. The homepage of the Center’s website includes a bar with easily accessible tabs to information about laws or policies that involve women – including Reproductive Rights, Child Care, Education, and Workplace. Each category is filled with subcategories, which inform readers of their rights and current laws, and link to resources that might help.
It’s only natural that the Center would support the creation of a network of attorneys to benefit women across the nation who might be dealing with cases of gender discrimination. With the Legal Network for Gender Equity available to women everywhere, we might make a difference in courts, fighting against the increasingly lukewarm ambivalence toward sex discrimination in today’s society.
“Bringing in more attorneys to really focus on these cases is a good idea,” said Lenora Lapidus, director of the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, in support of the network. “We become like a tide that can push change more rapidly.”
We support this tidal wave of legal badasses 100 percent!
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