In 1967, the UPCUSA General Assembly's concern with the status of women in society took a big step as it directed that a study be prepared on "Women in Society and in the Church" (UPCUSA, 1967, p. 392).  A subsequent study was approved by the 1969 UPCUSA Assembly (UPCUSA, 1969, p. 349).  Then, in 1970, public policy recommendations began to come forward.  In 1970, the UPCUSA Assembly endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment (UPCUSA, 1970, p. 437).  The Assembly in 1971 voted to recommend ". . . that local congregations, being sensitive to the needs of working mothers, establish day care centers, working ecumenically where feasible . . ." (UPCUSA, 1971, p. 301).

   The PCUS Assembly in 1972 declared:  ". . . God calls upon the church to act in society to end discrimination on the basis of sex and to challenge anything which interferes with women's full development and wholeness . . ." (PCUS, 1972, p. 178).  That same Assembly threw its support behind the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.  Later PCUS Assemblies reaffirmed their support for the amendment (PCUS, 1974, p. 161; 1975, p. 121; 1977, p. 347; 1979, p. 190; 1981, p. 159).  Meanwhile, the 1972 UPCUSA Assembly urged the support of all women in the time of pregnancy and motherhood (UPCUSA, 1972, p. 266).  The UPCUSA General Assembly reaffirmed its support for the E.R.A. frequently (UPCUSA, 1974, p. 104; 1975, p. 47; 1977, p. 122; 1978, p. 360; 1979, p. 82).

   The 1975 UPCUSA Assembly decried sexism in the military (UPCUSA, 1975, p. 478).  In 1976 the PCUS Assembly expressed support for the continuing goals of the International Women's Decade -- equality, full integration of women into international development efforts, and recognition of women's contributions to peace among nations. The 1979 UPCUSA Assembly passed two resolutions which are excerpted below.  One was on sexual and domestic violence and the other concerned sexual harassment.

   The early 1980's experienced an increase in advocacy for women's issues as the 1981 PCUS General Assembly passed a reaffirmation of equal rights for women in church and society (PCUS, 1981, p. 159); the 1982 UPCUSA Assembly considered the special problems faced by women immigrants and the adverse effects of federal budget cutting on women (UPCUSA, 1982, p. 430); the UPCUSA Assembly also acted to oppose the "Family Protection Act" and its more than 30 provisions which would have eliminated federally funded legal aid for divorce and custody cases, denied funds for textbooks which portrayed women in roles other than the traditional family one, jeopardized the health, reproductive, and privacy rights of women by eliminating funding of contraceptive and abortion services, and limited support of legal services in areas of discrimination (UPCUSA, 1982, p. 110).

   The 1983 General Assembly, the first meeting of the new PC(USA), was particularly active as a supporter of women's rights.  The General Assembly affirmed ". . . the urgency of the issue of the lack of economic justice for women and . . . recognize[d] and affirm[ed] the women's constituency groups [the Council on Women and the Church, the Third World Women's Coordinating Committee, the National Executive Committee of United Presbyterian Women, and Women Employed by the Church] as they give priority attention to this issue . . ." (PC(USA), 1983, p.87, 475).  It recognized the problems of female sexual slavery and violence, affirming the ". . . Council on Women and Church in its plan to study these issues . . ." (PC(USA), 1983, p. 87, 475)  The General Assembly voted to ". . . support vigorously, through program and advocacy, equal legal rights for women and economic justice for women . . ." (PC(USA), 1983, p. 475).  The General Assembly also adopted a statement on respect and non-violence, particularly with regard to sexual exploitation (see citation below).

   A key concern for the General Assemblies throughout the 1980's was the phenomena known as the "feminization of poverty."  On the basis of evidence that women not only were subject to employment discrimination, but also were the victims of structural economic problems, the General Assemblies endorsed a range of specific economic proposals designed to benefit women.  The 1983 General Assembly adopted a "Resolution in Support of the Economic Equity Act" which is cited below.  In 1984, the General Assembly adopted a "Resolution on the Feminization of Poverty," which noted the increased numbers of families led by single women, and that many of these women were either already or perilously close to poverty, and urged adoption of the Economic Equity Act of 1984 and the Earnings Sharings Proposals for the Social Security Program.  Both of these programs were intended to improve the pensions received by women, particularly widows, homemakers, and divorced women (PC(USA), 1984, p. 326-328).

   The same General Assembly (1984) also endorsed the concept of equal pay for jobs of comparable worth (see below), and called upon Congress and the Administration to authorize the entitlement of the WIC program (a program providing an adequate diet for women and children at nutritional risk), so that all who needed such services could receive them (PC(USA), 1984, pp. 508, 742).  The 1984 Assembly also called upon Congress to once again initiate the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in its "Resolution on the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution" (PC(USA), 1984, p. 329).  The 1984 General Assembly also took note of the pending conclusion of the United Nations Decade for Women in 1985, commending it ". . . for its ongoing efforts to address the problems affecting women the world over," and urging the ". . . United States Department of State to send a delegation to the 1985 United Nations Conference on the International Women's Decade that reflects the ethnic, cultural, educational, and economic diversity of women in our country . . ." (PC(USA), 1984, p. 330-331).

   In 1985, the General Assembly adopted a major statement on women which included concerns about the gender related aspects of poverty, excerpted below.  It also adopted a statement on "Aid for Families with Dependent Children," which reviews much of the information cited in previous papers on the undue burden of poverty on women and children, and adopted recommendations urging action to buttress AFDC benefits and those who desperately need them (PC(USA), 1985, p. 574-576).  The Assembly of 1986 addressed other facets of women's economic reality as it called attention to the critical lack of day care services and urged congregations to become care providers, and reaffirmed its opposition to sex-based wage discrimination (PC(USA), 1986, pp. 573, 639).

   The Assembly of 1986 also returned to the issue of sexual exploitation of women and addressed prostitution, sex tourism, and practices related to military bases in Third World countries (PC(USA), 1986, p. 645).  In 1987, the General Assembly urged the ratification of the United Nations Convention against Sexism (PC(USA), 1987, p. 583).

   The 1988 General Assembly adopted two major papers affecting women for study.  The first, "All the Livelong Day:  Women and Work," reviewed the issues facing women in the workplace, and urged further development of policy (PC(USA), 1988, p. 624).  It also reaffirmed ". . . the urgency and critical importance of issues related to women, work, and economic justice. . ." (PC(USA), 1988, p. 643).  The General Assembly also adopted a study paper on "Pornography:  Far From the Song of Songs," cited in Chapter Ten.

   In 1991, the church passed a "Study Paper on Family Violence," urging ". . . the churches to study the paper on domestic violence and establish programs to respond to domestic abuse in their communities," and authorizing ". . . the Stated Clerk to print the [paper] and distribute it to each church" (PC(USA), 1991, pp. 796-801).  The Assembly also adopted a Policy and Procedures on Sexual Misconduct.  The policy is binding only on the General Assembly and its entities, but is ". . . guidance in behavior that is appropriate and to suggest procedures or accountability when allegations of misconduct are made . . . " (PC(USA), 1991, pp. 78-92).  The 205th General Assembly (1993) adopted the Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedures, saying that ". . . the policy and its procedures apply to all General Assembly entities, and for moral and legal reasons, [urging] all governing bodies and institutions to use this model as a guide in the development of their own sexual misconduct policy and procedures. . ." (PC(USA), 1993, p. 570).  This policy replaces that adopted in 1991 and supercedes it.

   In recognition of factors that indicate that the teachings of some organizations and churches have unintentionally been a factor in fostering a climate of acceptance for the subjugation and oppression of women, culminating in acts of violence against women, the 211th General Assembly (1999) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adopted a resolution that renewed its commitment to stand in solidarity with women.  The 1999 Assembly also approved a new policy statement, "Building Community Among Strangers," which was submitted by the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy.  A section of the policy statement included gender-based injustices, which appears below.  For the full text of the policy statement on "Building Community Among Strangers," see Minutes, PC(USA), 1999, pp. 401–434.  Finally, the 211th General Assembly (1999) adopted a resolution regarding prostitution, which appears below.

   On the Church and the condition of prostituted women, the 214th General Assembly (2002) received and approved

…the report Sisters of Mercy, Daughters of Grace; Presbyterians and Prostituted Women, a report without recommendations was prepared in response to the 1999 Referral (27.005. Recommendation 4), which directed the Advocacy Committee for Women's concerns, in consultation with the General Assembly Council, to Appoint a Five-Member Work Group of Women and Men from the Church at Large to Work with Appropriate Staff Persons from Women's Ministries, Men's Ministries, and Churchwide Personnel Services to study the status of How the PC(USA) Is Addressing the Issues of Sexual Exploitation, Sexual Addiction, Prostitution, and their Root causes and Report to the 213th General Assembly (2001) (Minutes, 1999, Part I, pp. 78, 473).  The report was to include examples of current models of ministry, as well as a proposal for how the individual churches and committees on ministry can respond faithfully.

   The 214th General Assembly (2002) approved this final response to referral from the Advocacy for Women's Concerns with commnets.