The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex as well as race in hiring, promoting, and firing. While this act is a famous landmark in the national effort to assure equality of treatment, its ban on sex discrimination was not in the forefront of the effort. On this date in 1872, the state of Illinois enacted the first such ban on discrimination. It came about through the lobbying of America’s first female law school graduate, Alta Hulett, who had been refused admission to the Illinois bar. Today, nearly 41 percent of employed women 16 and older work in management, professional and related occupations, compared with just over 34 percent of employed males. Profile America is in its 16th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.