ABSTRACT
In 1969, responding to the women's movement, Modern Language Association (MLA) created the Commission on the Status of Women in the Profession, headed by Florence Howe of Goucher. MLA never officially sanctioned Women's Caucus for the Modern Languages (WCML). To appreciate how sharp a break with precedent these actions represented, one has only to glance at the study of the official MLA Discussion Groups, submitted by the Commission on Women to the 1971 convention. With the help of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and women's groups, colleges and universities are beginning to adopt affirmative action plans to end discrimination against women and minority groups in faculty, staff, or custodial positions. The commission, WCML, and various women's groups are concerned primarily with these problems affecting the profession as a whole, even more than with the internal structure of MLA.
