Title IX Overview Alar Lipping, Ph.D.

Title IX is a US law stating that 1972 legislation No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

Legal Definitions: Title IX in the US Title IX requires compliance with one of these three tests: zThe proportionality test A 5 percentage point deviation has been okay zThe history of progress test Judged by actions & progress over past 3 years zThe accommodation of interest test Programs & teams meet the interests and abilities of the under represented sex

Title IX in the US has zSupported dramatic changes in the sport participation opportunities available to girls & women since 1972 zEvoked continuous resistance since it became law zDemonstrated that laws and law enforcement do not exist in a social and cultural vacuum zDemonstrated that when laws challenge the ideas and lifestyles of people with power, the legitimacy and enforcement of those laws will be questioned

Title IX Categories of Support for Athletes: Access to facilities Quality of facilities Availability of scholarships Program operating expenses Recruiting budgets Scheduling of games & practice times Travel and per diem expenses Academic tutoring Number of coaches Salaries for all staff and administrators Medical training services and facilities Publicity for players, teams, and events

Effect of Title IX in Education zIn 1994, women received 38% of medical degrees, compared with 9% in 1972 zIn 1994, women earned 43% of law degress, compared with 7% in 1972 zIn 1994, 44% of all doctoral degrees to U.S. citizens went to women, up from 25% in 1977

High School Participation zIn ,666,917 male participants zIn ,015 female participants zIn ,921,069 male participants zIn ,784,154 female participants

College Participation zIn 1966, 16,000 female participants zIn 1991, 158,000 female participants zNumber of intercollegiate sports offered to female athletes increased from 5.61 in 1978 to 7.31 in 1988 z8.32 teams per school is the average offering for female athletes in 2004

Decline of Coaching and Administrative Positions

Coaching and Administration: Reasons for Underrepresentation 1.Women have fewer established connections and networks in elite programs 2.Subjective evaluative criteria used by search committees 3.Support systems & professional development opportunities for women have been scarce (continued)

Coaching and Administration: Reasons for Underrepresentation 4.Many women do not see spaces for them in corporate cultures of sport programs 5.Sport organizations are seldom sensitive to family responsibilities among coaches and administrators 6.Women may anticipate sexual harassment and more demanding standards than those used to judge men

Proportionality zFemale share of undergraduates is 55.8% zFemale share of athletes is 41.7%

Soccer zSoccer exhibits the greatest growth of any sport in the last 27 years. It is now offered for women on 88.6% of the campuses while in 1977 it was only found on 2.8% of the campuses.

Debate zDebates over Title IX have focused more on maintaining the numerous athletic opportunities that men have historically enjoyed rather than ensuring that women gain access to the opportunities they have been historically denied.

Elimination of men’s sports zThere is no provision in Title IX that calls for elimination of men’s sports zDecline in men’s wrestling and tennis zIncrease in men’s sports such as football, baseball, lacrosse, and soccer