Women's rights were a joke?

Literally. This is a fascinating anecdote worth following up on.

The U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 was drafted for the purpose of eliminating racial discrimination in employment, but it was amended during the Congressional debate to prohibit discrimination against women as well. However, as N.Y. Times columnist Gail Collins points out in her brilliant new book, that amendment was added to the Bill by arch-segregationist Congressman Howard Smith from Virginia in a whimsical effort to make the whole thing unpalatable to his mostly-male colleagues in the House of Representatives. But to his surprise, the Civil Rights Act passed anyway. This was the most important single step on the road to equal rights for women in America, and it came about as the result of a joke. More...