The Women’s Center is an organization of University of Idaho’s campus that serves to promote gender equity in the community and provide opportunities that intend to support, educate, and empower individuals. The origin of the Women’s Center is found in a small committee appointed by University President Ernest Hartung in 1972, to tackle the high female student drop-out rate. This committee later grew to speak to broader issues pertaining to women on campus, including employees. They worked on campus issues such as women in faculty positions, pay grades and promotional opportunities. This small group of women later became known as the Women’s Caucus and a smaller portion known as the “Core Group” were very active around issues of the inequality the women on campus experienced. They filed formal complaints against the University when promised changes were not being met, leading to a conciliation agreement signed in 1974 by the “Core Group” and President Hartung. In this agreement, the University agreed to implement an Affirmative Action plan, provide permanent funding for the Women’s Center Director, ensure equal starting salaries, and establish recruitment programs for female high school students, and more.

Today the Women’s Center’s mission is to advocate for gender equality on a variety of issues include wage-gap, reproduction, gender-based violence and discrimination and other critical social issues. What was once a purely volunteer managed organization is now a fully staffed establishment on campus with directors and coordinators that continually provide information, services and newsletters surrounding social issues of gender, sexuality, and equity. The Women’s Center’s current location is on the ground floor of the Memorial Gym, room 109, where it provides amenities open to anyone, including lounge areas, kitchenettes, study rooms and a variety of audio and visual materials to keep you informed on all the social justice being done surrounding the fight for female equity.