Promoting Equality: Empowering Women in STEM for a Brighter Future

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) faced a complaint filed by an economics professor, Mark Perry, arguing that their women-in-STEM programs violated Title IX. While the complaint was dismissed, RIT opened the programs to men and closed two of them during the investigation. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has ruled in favor of some exclusive women-in-STEM programs, such as Kettering University's LITES program, which was found to be in compliance with civil rights law. The debate over single-sex programs continues, with some arguing that they are necessary to address the gender disparity in STEM fields, while others claim they perpetuate discrimination.