What is the current state of the law on discrimination on the basis of gender?

We apply intermediate, heightened scrutiny to laws that discriminate on the basis of gender. United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515, 53133, 116 S.Ct. 2264, 135 L.Ed.2d 735 (1996). Under intermediate scrutiny, the government classification must serve actual and important governmental objectives, and the discriminatory means employed must be substantially related to the achievement of those objectives. Nguyen v. INS, 533 U.S. 53, 68, 121 S.Ct. 2053, 150 L.Ed.2d 115 (2001) ; Virginia, 518 U.S. at 533, 116 S.Ct. 2264. Furthermore, the justification for the challenged classification must be genuine, not hypothesized or invented post hoc in response to litigation. And it must not rely on overbroad generalizations about the different talents, capacities, or preferences of males and females. Virginia, 518 U.S. at 533, 116 S.Ct. 2264.