CHAPTER FivE • Civil RigHTs 103
Sexual Harassment
Unwanted physical or
verbal conduct or abuse
of a sexual nature that
interferes with a recipient’s
job performance, creates a
hostile work environment,
or carries with it an
implicit or explicit threat
of adverse employment
consequences.leader again in 2010 when the Republicans regained control
of the House. The number of women in Congress reached a
new high after the 2012 elections, with seventy-eight women
in the House and thirty in the Senate.
In 1984, for the first time, a woman, Geraldine Ferraro,
became the Democratic nominee for vice president. In 2008,
Hillary Clinton mounted a major campaign for the presidency,
and Sarah Palin became the Republican nominee for vice
president. Recent Gallup polls show that close to 90 percent
of Americans said they would vote for a qualified woman for
president if she was nominated by their party.
Increasing numbers of women are also being appointed
to cabinet posts. President George W. Bush appointed sev-
eral women to cabinet positions, including Condoleezza Rice
as his secretary of state in 2005. President Barack Obama
named his former rival Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state
and added six other women to his cabinet.
Increasing numbers of women are sitting on federal
judicial benches as well. President Ronald Reagan (1981–
1989) was credited with an historic first when he appointed
Sandra Day O’Connor to the United States Supreme Court
in 1981. (O’Connor retired in 2005.) President Bill Clinton
also appointed a woman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to the Court.
In 2009, President Obama named Sonia Sotomayor to the
Court, the first Hispanic and third woman to serve. In 2010,
Obama appointed Elena Kagan to the Court, bringing the
number of women currently serving on the Court to three.gender-Based
discrimination in the Workplace
Traditional cultural beliefs concerning the proper role of
women in society continue to be evident not only in the
political arena but also in the workplace. Since the 1960s,
however, women have gained substantial protection against
discrimination through laws that require equal employment
opportunities and equal pay.Title vii of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits gender discrimination in
employment and has been used to strike down employment policies that discriminate
against employees on the basis of gender. In 1978, Congress amended Title VII to expand
the definition of gender discrimination to include discrimination based on pregnancy.sexual Harassment. The United States Supreme Court has also held that Title VII’s
prohibition of gender-based discrimination extends to sexual harassment in the work-
place. One form of sexual harassment occurs when job opportunities, promotions, sal-
ary increases, and other benefits are given in return for sexual favors. Another form of
sexual harassment, called hostile-environment harassment, occurs when an employee
is subjected to sexual conduct or comments that interfere with the employee’s jobmeg Whitman, currently the CEO of Hewlett
Packard, was formerly the CEO of eBay and the 2010
Republican candidate for governor of California. She is
speaking at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in
Dallas, Texas. What could be done to make it easier for
talented women to rise to the top? (Tom Pennington/
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