ELEANOR HOLMES
NORTON
Seventh Chair of the EEOC, May 27, 1977 - February 21,
1981
Eleanor Holmes Norton was the first woman appointed Chairman of
the Commission. President Jimmy Carter nominated her on May 16,
1977. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 27, sworn-in on
June 6, and served as Chair of the EEOC until February 21,
1981.
Ms. Norton came to head the Commission immediately after serving
in a similar leadership role for seven years as chairman of the New
York City Commission on Civil Rights. Her effectiveness in
directing the equal employment functions of the city agency was key
to her being cited in 1974 by Time Magazine as one of the top 200
American leaders under 45.
Before joining the New York Commission, Ms. Norton was a law
clerk for Federal District Court Judge H. Leon Higginbotham and
practiced law as assistant legal director of the American Civil
Liberties Union. She is a graduate of Antioch College, received her
M.A. degree from Yale Graduate School and her law degree from Yale
Law School.
As chairwoman of the EEOC, Ms. Norton instituted several new
systems aimed at reducing the agency's backlog of older cases,
streamlining procedures for processing new cases and effectively
processing Commission initiated charges against employers who show
patterns of discrimination against minorities and women.
Ms. Norton was an early advocate of parallel actions on behalf
of equal rights for minorities and women. Her work in this regard
is rooted in the civil rights and sit-in movements in the South,
including associations with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic
Party and campaigns in the North for equal rights. She co-authored
several books, including Sex Discrimination and the Law: Causes
and Remedies, currently in use in law schools and colleges.
Ms. Norton is now in her fifth term in Congress, representing
Washington, D.C.
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