The University Committee for the Advancement of Women and Gender Equity (UCAWGE), originally called the University Committee on Women, was created in 1971 as a response to a heightened awareness of discrimination for women on campus in conjunction with the women's liberation movement of the 1970s. It brought to light the unequal treatment that female faculty, staff, and students faced, especially over the issue of equal pay for equal work. 

Today, UCAWGE is an active and diverse committee still devoted to the mission to advance gender equity within the university committee. The most visible product of this committee is the Status on Women Report, previously captured every five years via a written report provided to administration and now available on a continual basis as a dashboard on this website. We seek to amplify the voices of those across the gender spectrum in order to bring to light policies and practices that are inequitable within the Iowa State University community.