About the National Women’s Law Center

Since 1972, has expanded the possibilities for women and girls in this country.   The Center uses the law in all its forms: getting new laws on the books and enforced; litigating ground-breaking cases in state and federal courts all the way to the Supreme Court; and educating the public about ways to make the law and public policies work for women and their families.  An experienced staff of more than 40 takes on the issues that cut to the core of women's and girls' lives in education, employment, family economic security, and health -- with special attention given to the needs of low-income women and their families.

Program Areas

Gender gaps persist in education, particularly when it comes to training women and girls for today’s technology-oriented workplace, leveling the playing field in athletics, and other areas essential to the full development of their potential.   The Center’s Education program addresses these gaps by fighting for strong enforcement of Title IX and promoting programs that remove barriers to girls’ educational opportunities.  Current priorities include opening doors to vocational and career education programs that train young women to enter and succeed in non-traditional fields with the promise of greater pay and job opportunities; bringing groundbreaking lawsuits and undertaking other advocacy efforts to enforce Title IX’s promise of equal treatment in education including in athletics; and fighting for strong affirmative action policies that take race and gender into account to remedy discrimination and promote diversity in education.

Women still face discrimination in pay and promotions and a lack of critical supports that help them succeed in the workplace.   The Center’s  Employment program addresses these barriers by fighting for equal treatment of women in all aspects of their employment.  Current priorities include fighting for equal pay and benefits for women, protecting the right to take family leave when necessary, gaining strong enforcement of laws prohibiting sexual harassment and other job discrimination, and promoting the creation and preservation of valuable affirmative action programs in the workplace.

More women than men are poor in this country and their poverty is far more persistent.   The Center's Family Economic Security program advances laws and public policies to help economically vulnerable women -- including single mothers, women of color and older women – by promoting high-quality, affordable child and dependent care, meaningful income support programs and a strong  Social Security program, and promoting fair and fiscally responsible  tax and budget policies.  Current priorities include expanding federal and state resources for  child care and early education; reforming child support policies so that more child support goes to families who formerly received public assistance; and leading a massive coalition and long-term public education effort to ensure a federal tax system that raises sufficient revenues to meet national priorities and assures that individuals and corporations pay their fair share.

Women’s health is jeopardized by limited access to health care; reproductive rights are under concerted attack; and women’s health needs are often overlooked.   The Center’s  Health program is fighting to protect reproductive rights, increase women’s access to health insurance and promote policies that advance and protect women’s health on the state and federal levels.   Current priorities include helping workers enforce their rights to coverage of contraceptives in their employers’ health insurance plans; pioneering new legal theories to ensure that health care providers do not refuse to address women’s reproductive health needs; highlighting the best public policies for reducing smoking among women and girls; and fighting to protect Medicaid. 

In addition, the Center moves quickly to address issues that transcend these program areas.   For example, the core legal rights that women have won over the last 30 years – the right to choose, the right to equal opportunities in the workplace and schools, and a broad range of other legal protections that promote women’s well-being and safety – are currently jeopardized by the appointment of federal judges with an extreme legal philosophy.  The Center is leading the way in the debates over the Senate’s role in evaluating and confirming  judicial nominations and highlighting what is at stake for women and the public at large with respect to lifetime appointments to the federal courts.  

Accomplishments

The Center has been at the forefront of landmark legal and public policy initiatives to improve the lives of women, girls and families since 1972.  For example, the Center was instrumental in passing laws to prohibit pregnancy discrimination in employment and to provide compensation for victims of sexual harassment.  The Center improved state and federal tax laws to help millions of families pay for child and dependent care and secured new federal remedies for women seeking child support.  The Center has also been a leader in enforcing Title IX, the 1972 federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education, including athletics, since it was enacted.  For more information on the Center’s history of accomplishments, please view "Expanding the Possibilities for 30 Years" and the biographies of Center Co-Presidents  Marcia D. Greenberger   and  Nancy Duff Campbell.

Supporters

The Center’s work would not be possible without the support of thousands of individual supporters and institutions, including:  American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees; American Legacy Foundation; AOL Time Warner; American Express; Arnold & Porter; AT&T Foundation; Beech Street Foundation; BET Holdings; the Annie E. Casey Foundation; Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation; Cigna Foundation; Citigroup; Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, Inc.; The Beatrice R. & Joseph A. Coleman Foundation; Marjorie Cook Foundation; The Coca Cola Company; Credit Suisse First Boston; Nathan Cummings Foundation; Deer Creek Foundation; The Dyson Foundation; Equal Justice Works; Fannie Mae Foundation; Ford Foundation; FoxKiser; Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation; The George Gund Foundation; Harley-Davidson Motor Company; William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; IBM Corporation; Kaiser Family Foundation; W.K. Kellogg Foundation; The MARGARET Fund; The John Merck Fund; Moriah Fund; The Ms. Foundation for Women; National Education Association; New York Stock Exchange; Open Society Institute; Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide; The Ottinger Foundation; The David and Lucile Packard Foundation; PepsiCo Foundation; Rockefeller Family Foundation; The Sandler Family Supporting Foundation; the Caroline and Sigmund Schott Foundation; Scherman Foundation; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Three Guineas Fund; Turner Foundation; Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering; Wyeth … and many other generous foundations, law firms, corporations, unions and individuals. 

For information about making a contribution to the Center, please call (202) 588-5180 or make a secure donation by credit card or by  downloading a contribution form   and mailing it with a check to National Women's Law Center, 11 Dupont Circle, NW, #800, Washington, D.C. 20036. 

The National Women’s Law Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization.   Contributions to the Center are tax-deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code as allowed by law.