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 U.S. 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. Five hundred and sixty 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.
From the guide to the Papers, 1969-1980, (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)
