264: I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar: Jan Tyler

Jan Tyler has been an active campaigner for women's rights since the early 1970's. Her first job was at Weber State University as the Women's Dean.  It was there that she met the incoming President, Joseph Bishop.  He became so problematic that she eventually hired a lawyer and took out a discrimination case against him. She was later employed by BYU where she went head to head with Dallin Oaks (the then president) over women's rights.   She took three top Utah State administrators to court over sex discrimination.  And as the head of the coordinating committee for the Utah International Women's Year convention in 1975, she stood for women's rights against a 13,000 strong Mormon contingent who were hell-bent on disrupting the proceedings.   Jan went on to champion the cause of women and Mormon women in one of the most patriarchal and conservative states in the USA.  Her story is one of plucky and determined resolve to support women's rights in the face of institutions, culture and even her own faith tradition.