Records of the New York Times Women's Caucus, 1969-1980
Overview
Legal documents, memos, depositions, etc., of New York Times Women's Caucus, created in 1972 to fight discrimination against women at the newspaper.
Dates
- Creation: 1969-1980
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the records created by New York Times Women's Caucus is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.
Copying. Records may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
2.42 linear feet ((2 cartons, 1 file box) plus 2 oversize items)Records concern the successful suit of the Women's Caucus against the Times. Included are legal documents, memos, depositions, transcripts, correspondence, clippings and memorabilia. Also records of meetings of the Caucus; and audiotape (shelved separately as T-228) of speech by Nan Robertson at a 1986 meeting of the Caucus.
HISTORY
In 1972, 80 women employees of The New York Times petitioned publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger concerning the status of women at the newspaper. A year later they filed charges of discrimination with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the New York City Commission on Human Rights. As there were no results, six New York Times women--Elizabeth Wade Boylan, Louise Carini, Joan Cook, Nancy Davis, Grace Glueck, and Andrea Skinner--sued the paper in 1974 under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Over five hundred and fifty other Times women joined in the suit when, in February 1977, a Federal judge ruled in favor of class action. The women were represented by the Federally funded Employment Rights Project at Columbia University, with Model Cities funds going to Columbia via the City government. Attorneys on the Project were Harriet Rabb, George Cooper, and Howard Rubin. Although it denied charges of systematic discrimination, the New York Times agreed in November 1978 to an out-of-court settlement that amended goals for promoting women to influential editorial and managerial positions, created an annuities fund of $232,000 to compensate New York Times women for the cost of past discrimination, and awarded the plaintiffs $100,000 to cover legal fees.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number: 80-M169
The records of the New York Times Women's Caucus's successful suit against the Times were given to the Schlesinger Library in July 1980 by the New York Times Women's Caucus.
SEPARATION RECORD
The following items have been removed from the collection and deposited in the Schlesinger Library book and periodical collections, August 1980:
- Myra E. Barrer, ed. Journal of Legal Documents Affecting Women, vol 1-1 (document nos. 1-22) and vol. 1-2 (document nos. 23-48), Washington, D.C., Today Publications, July and October 1976.
- Susan R. Agid, Fair Employment Litigation Manual: Procedural Guide and Sample Documents, New York, Employment Rights Project, Columbia University, 1974.
- Columbia Magazines Summer 1980 ("The Women of Columbia").
CONTAINER LIST
- Carton 1: 1-19
- Carton 2: 20-31v
- Box 3: 32a-32h
Processing Information
Preliminary inventory: August 1980
By: Fred Wegener
- Title
- New York Times Women's Caucus. Records of the New York Times Women's Caucus, 1969-1986: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- sch00825
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.