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Title IX foremothers gather in D.C.

Deborah Ashford holds a poster of Carter Administration female appointees.
Deborah Ashford holds a poster of Carter Administration female appointees, including a young Hillary Rodham.

I’m heading home from an intensive two weeks in Washington, D.C. doing interviews and research for my book on the people behind Title IX, and I’m especially grateful to Margaret Dunkle for inviting me to a historic gathering of 11 of the remaining foremothers of Title IX for me to witness, listen, and interview. Some brought momentos for show-and-tell. Here’s Deborah Ashford holding a poster that the Carter Administration issued to show that he’d kept his promise to appoint more women to government positions. Look who’s right next to each other — a young Hillary Rodham (center, left) and Title IX “godmother” Bernice Sandler (center, right).

Title IX "godmother" Bernice Sandler pictured next to a young Hillary Clinton in a Carter Administration poster of female appointees.
Title IX “godmother” Bernice Sandler pictured next to a young Hillary Rodham (later Clinton) in a Carter Administration poster of female appointees.

Sherry Boschert is the author of 37 Words: Title IX and Fifty Years of Fighting Sex Discrimination (The New Press, 2022). It's a sweeping history of the law called Title IX, which changed the lives of millions of girls and women. The paperback version will launch in 2026, renamed Fifty Years of Title IX: How 37 Words Changed America.

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