Gender Equity

The ACLU of Hawai‘i is committed to achieving gender justice.

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Today, gender bias continues to create huge barriers for many people. Ongoing struggles include ensuring equal economic opportunities, educational equity, and an end to gender-based violence. The ACLU of Hawai‘i recognizes that gender justice is not possible if racism, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, and other forms of injustice remain.

The ACLU of Hawai‘i continues to work tirelessly to achieve gender justice through an ongoing Title IX case against the Department of Education and the Oahu Interscholastic Association, expanding abortion access from just two of the main islands, and supporting policies that promote workplace fairness and equity.

The Latest

News & Commentary
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Feds investigating Hawaii's public school system over transgender sports policies

HONOLULU (Island News) -- A federal investigation into the state Department of Education's policies allowing transgender athletes to compete in school sports is riling activists in Hawaii.
News & Commentary
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Hawai‘i DOE Wants $83,000 To Provide Data On Gender Equity In Schools

DOE has recently stepped up its oversight of high school sports, but parents say they want more information on how female athletes are treated.
Press Release
ACLU of HI staff

Hawaiʻi Federal Court Rules that FDA’s Restrictions on Medication Abortion are Unlawful

HONOLULU, HI – In an October 30 ruling, U.S. District Judge Jill Otake held that the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) imposition of medically unnecessary restrictions on the medication abortion pill, Mifepristone, violated federal law.
Resource
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Title IX - Prohibiting Sex Discrimination in Schools

Court Case
December 6, 2018

A.B. et al. v. Hawai‘i DOE and OIA

In December 2018, the ACLU of Hawaiʻi, together with Legal Aid at Work and Simpson Thacher & Barlett, filed a Title IX class action lawsuit on behalf of brave Campbell High School female student-athletes against the Hawaiʻi DOE and the OIA seeking gender equity in school athletics.
Court Case
July 2, 2026

JK v. HK

In an important victory in our JK v. HK case, the Hawai'i Supreme Court held that an unmarried woman who is not the biological parent of a child can still establish parental rights by holding out the child as her own. A lower court had previously decided that this standard only applied to unmarried men, but not to unmarried women in the identical situation. This issue primarily comes up in situations like that of our client involving an unmarried same-sex couple who are co-parenting a child. This ruling is a major win for LGBTQ couples in Hawai'i and is a necessary clarification of the law.