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Level Playing Fields Terence Smith reports on leveling the playing field for women athletes after 30 years of Title IX. (7/4/02)

Evening The Odds
A look back at the effects of Title IX at its twenty-fifth anniversary. (7/17/97)

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Gender Equity and Title IX from the Independent Women's Forum

National Women's Law Center

Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Education

Title IX: Helping or Hurting?
June 26, 2002

The U.S. Civil Rights movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s tried to equalize opportunities for people of any gender, race, color, or religious belief.

Out of that movement came a controversial law called Title IX, designed to help open doors previously closed to females.

Equal playing fields

Title IX has a strange name because it is part of a series of educational amendments to U.S. laws passed in 1972.

It is best known as the law forcing many schools to equalize athletic opportunities for females and males.

Since it took effect, it has made a huge difference in the number of girls playing sports.

Thirty years ago, only seven percent of high school varsity athletes were female and today they represent 41 percent. Female varsity college athletes rose from 15 to 42 percent during the same time.

The Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education says Title IX increased sport participation for high school girls from almost 295,000 to over 2.6 million in 30 years.

Although women are participating more, there isn't complete equality in some school budgets and scholarship offerings according to some women's groups.

And other opponents say the increase hurts men's athletics because people misinterpret the law and feel they have to cut or reduce men's teams to add women's teams.

Off the playing field

Despite improvements in athletics, Title IX still has not completely leveled all aspects of education.

More women are going to college than in 1972, and more women than men are receiving bachelors and masters degrees.

However, according to a report by the NCWGE (the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education) women receive only 27 percent of computer science and 18 percent of engineering-related technology degrees.

In their report, they said women still find it difficult to break into typically male math and science related fields and that closes some career choices for women.

Fixing the past

Prior to the 1970s, girls and boys did not always have the same opportunities in public schools.

In many areas, girls were limited to taking classes and participating in extracurricular activities on specific topics like child care, education, or secretary work.

Title IX said no educational facility receiving federal funds could discriminate on the basis of gender.

In other words, if you operated any kind of educational company (like a public or private school) receiving some money from the national government, you had to offer the same classes and activities for both women and men.

The ban against discrimination included career programs, grading, standardized tests, and even the way schools handle admissions.

Organizations that track the progress of women say despite the rise in athletic participation, a true indication of Title IX's success will be when it's not unusual to see a female engineer, female car mechanic, or even a male secretary at the doctor's office.

-- By Samara Aberman, NewsHour Extra