ABSTRACT

The United States is known as the land of opportunity, replete with educational and economic possibilities, unlimited freedom, and the full protection of civil and human rights and liberties. The United States also likes to be known as the world's watchdog and considers itself exempt from human rights monitoring. The women's movement has, particularly since the 1970s, helped to transform sex discrimination laws, eliminating many of the earlier discriminatory provisions in areas like education, credit, and housing. The mere granting of equal pay for equal work will not touch these women's lives. If all women in the United States are to enjoy equal rights, judges and legislators must take seriously both national civil rights legislation and the equal rights provisions in the human rights treaties we have ratified. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 made it officially illegal arbitrarily to deny credit to women.