Federal law began to address sexism in the 1960s. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 required equal pay for equal work, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned sex discrimination in employment. Title IX of 1972 extended protections to education. The Equal Rights Amendment passed Congress in 1972 but was not ratified by enough states before its deadline.
Gaps remain. In 2023, women working full time year-round earned 82.7% of what men earned, according to the Census Bureau. The gap is wider for women of color: Black women working full time earned about 66 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, according to the National Women's Law Center.
Sexism also shows up in who is interrupted, promoted or believed, and in health care, housing and the courts. Looking only at gender misses how race and class change the experience, which is why the anti-racist view of sexism is intersectional.