The Supreme Court's ruling in the Bakke case, which found that strict numerical quotas were illegal in admissions programs, is analyzed in this article in terms of its applications to women's rights. It is pointed out that although the ruling, which was made on a statutory rather than a constitutional basis, conceded that race could be considered as one factor in admissions, it made no mention of gender as a permissible criterion. The possible interpretations of the ruling are examined as they relate to women's admissions at institutions of higher learning, quotas in student programs, voluntary affirmative action, and employment. In reviewing Executive Order 11246 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the article discusses the many unresolved issues confronting institutions and affirmative action. In its discussion of the 14th Amendment, the article points out that in the Bakke ruling the Court implied that it does not extend the same equal protection of the law to women as it does to racial and ethnic groups. (WI)