In February, 2024, Truly Equal filed with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) seven Title IX complaints against Colgate University, alleging the scholarships and programs promoted by the school discriminate against men.
The programs and scholarships in question are:
- Glamour’s College Women of the Year Scholarship
- NY Women in Communications Scholarship
- Her Campus Colgate (news and culture content)
- Ophelia’s Girls (mentorship program)
- Women’s Leadership Council
- Colgate Women’s Leadership Forum
- The Jean Picker Chair
On Oct. 7, 2024, the OCR informed Truly Equal that these issues were addressed as follows:
The Glamour and NY Women in Communications scholarships were removed from Colgate’s website. They are external programs and not administered by the school.
Her Campus, Ophelia’s Girls and the Women’s Leadership Council remain on colgate.edu, but the program descriptions have been changed to include all students — not just women and girls.
Meanwhile, the leadership forum and chair were referred to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission since they are offered to faculty and not students.
We consider these outcomes a win for Truly Equal and a win for gender equality!
OCR enforces Title IX which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity operated by a recipient of federal financial assistance from the department. As a recipient of federal financial assistance from the Department of Education, Colgate is subject to Title IX regulations.
The regulation implementing Title IX stipulates that no person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any academic, extracurricular, research, occupational training, or other education program or activity.
Title IX regulations also prohibit a school from providing assistance to any outside organization that discriminates on the basis of sex in providing any aid, benefit, or service to students or employees.
The regulation also states that such a school shall not provide different amounts or types of financial assistance, limit eligibility for such assistance, apply different criteria, or otherwise discriminate, on the basis of sex, or through solicitation, listing, approval, provision of facilities or other services. Nor shall it assist any foundation, trust, agency, organization, or person that provides assistance to any such recipient’s students in a manner which discriminates, on the basis of sex, or apply any rule or assist in the application of any rule concerning eligibility for such assistance that treats people of one sex differently from persons of the other sex with regard to marital or parental status.