History

The ASUW Women’s Commission was founded in 1969 in response to heated political activity on campus regarding gender issues. It was designed to attempt to meet the needs of women students on campus who felt discrimination, hostility and alienation. The commission remained active politically and socially and was followed by other student commissions in later years.

In 1993-1994, the annual programming budget for the Women’s Commission was cut to 1/3 of what it had been allocated in previous years. This began a three-year battle with the Board of Control, to which the Women’s Commission lost in the spring of 1997, resulting in permanent disassembly. Thus begins the history of the Women’s Action Coalition. They had the same purpose as the original Women’s Commission; however, their goals change each year to reflect student needs.

In 1999-2000 we regained our “commission” status, and we continue to meet the needs of students.

In recent year, we been renamed the “Gender Equity Commission” to include and incapsulate all gender-diverse peoples on UW campus. Committed to advocacy and programming around campus. 

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