President Barack Obama’s order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls symbolized the increased importance of women’s issues on the national stage. But there remains a hidden legacy of racial and ethnic discrimination perpetuated by women against other women that must also be addressed.

Hints of this legacy surfaced late last year when the Miami Woman’s Club apologized for its history of discrimination against women of color.

The Miami Woman’s Club was founded in 1900 as the Married Ladies’ Afternoon Club with the purpose of promoting reading and literature. Within five years, it sought a repository for its sizeable book collection and by 1913 had moved into its own building. It was a cultural center of sorts in Miami and in 1920 boasted 900 members, eventually founding the public library system in the City of Miami. But in the midst of the club’s heritage is a significant stain: the club refused to open its doors to Black women.

The Miami Woman’s Club is not an anomaly. Such prejudice has existed since before the inception of women’s suffrage. The National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA), under the leadership of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, barred Black women from its membership and openly endorsed white supremacist values. When the predominantly White Congressional Union (later the National Women’s Party) split from the NAWSA, its first act was to organize a national suffrage march on March 3, 1913. An estimated 5,000-10,000 people participated in the parade, but Black women were asked to march in a segregated section.

Even today, women’s issues continued to be primarily defined in accordance with white women’s concerns, despite the fact that women of color now account for over 30% of the U.S. female population. Abortion was framed as women’s primary reproductive health issue, ignoring AIDS, infant mortality rates, teenage pregnancy, and health care disparities—all of which are equally (if not more) important to women of color. And while we’re on the topic of abortion, what about the unscrupulous targeting of women of color for such procedures? The CDC reports that women of color have abortions at more than double the rate of white women; for African-American women the rate triples.

Positioning equal pay as women’s primary economic concern in the midst of the current economic crisis further relegates women of color’s issues to secondary status. The Consumer Federation of America found that African-American women and Latinas received sub-prime loans in greater numbers and at higher costs than white women. The higher percentage of women-headed households in many communities of color intensifies the impact of the economic crisis on women of color and their families. Is wage parity with men the primary equal pay issue, or is it wage parity for women of color with white women? Or is it both?

Undergirding the dominance of white women in the female hierarchy are prominent television shows like Sex and the City, echoed by Lipstick Jungle and the now-defunct Cashmere Mafia—shows that celebrate the sexual attractiveness and power of women. Not surprisingly, women of color, particularly those who are visible minorities, have been relegated to subservient status in these female dramas, outside of the “inner circle” of friends, and are usually in marginalized roles (read: Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson plays a secretary to Sarah Jessica Parker).

Even Disney’s initial attempts to develop a black princess character were riddled with invidious stereotypes. As the storyline went, the princess was to have been a chambermaid who worked for a spoiled young white Southern woman. But wait. Princesses in folklore are typically mistreated by members of their (extended) family, but since when have they been employed? Further, such a storyline allows for two princesses in the movie—one who is a princess of sorts by birth (the young white girl), and a maid who is transformed into a princess (the black girl). Which one would most little girls prefer to be?

Even the initial title, “The Frog Princess,” was more negative-sounding than, say, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, or Beauty and the Beast. After critics pilloried Disney’s efforts, the company went back, literally, to the drawing board, made plot and character changes and retitled the movie: The Princess and the Frog. But it speaks to the state of affairs for women of color when America can elect a president of African descent and Disney continues to struggle with positive imagery around a young black female character.

It is certainly true that white women have and continue to face significant gender discrimination, and that they have struggled for significant portions of the progress that has been achieved on the women’s agenda. Further, not all women’s organizations have been unwelcoming to women of color. and while some might argue that women overwhelmingly voted for President Obama, this conflates men of color and women of color. A vote for a man of African descent is not the same as a vote for a woman of African descent.

In a show of contrition, The Miami Woman’s Club offered an apology to Dorothy Fields on behalf of her stepfather, who worked at the club, and others employed there over the years. But Ms. Fields could just as easily have accepted the apology for herself: the club refused to allow her wedding reception to be held on its premises over 40 years ago, because she is black. As America works toward the realization of gender equality, let’s not forget that racial and ethnic discrimination is an issue for women, too.