Engrossing Copy of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 became a milestone for gender equality when the word “sex” was inserted into the legislation, which initially had named race, color, religion and national origin. The inclusion of women as a group protected against discrimination was an important tool in advancing social and economic progress for women.

This document shows several amendments to the bill, including one proposed by Representative Howard Smith of Virginia, that added word "sex" to the categories in which the bill prohibited discrimination. Critics argued that Smith, a conservative Southern opponent of Federal civil rights, did so to kill the entire bill. Smith, however, argued that he had amended the bill in keeping with his support of Alice Paul and the National Women's Party with whom he had been working. Martha W. Griffiths (D-MI) led the effort to keep the word "sex" in the bill.

In the final legislation, Section 703 (a) made it unlawful for an employer to "fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions or privileges or employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." The final bill also allowed sex to be a consideration when sex is a bona fide occupational qualification for the job. Title VII of the act created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to implement the law.