After nearly 30 years of Title IX, the federal law barring sex discrimination in education, 30 colleges and universities are still shortchanging female athletes by almost $6.5 million in athletic scholarships annually, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) announced today. “Thirty years after Title IX, our young women are still being shortchanged. Sex discrimination in athletic scholarships has a harmful and practical impact on female students and their families who are trying to make ends meet for tuition,” said Marcia D. Greenberger, NWLC Co-President.
Inequitable spending on female athletes has created an “athletic scholarship gap” the disparity between the percentage of female athletes and the percentage of scholarship funds they receive. According to NWLC, the athletic scholarship gap between women and men at these 30 schools is between 4 and 17 percent, translating to a gap of between $993 and $6,545. Female athletes at these 30 schools will lose between $3,972 and $26,180 in scholarship funds over a four-year college career. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in education and is credited with opening sports to women. Prior to Title IX, approximately 30,000 female college students participated in sports; today the number is 157,000. In turn, the growth in the number of female college athletes has lead to professional women’s sports teams and leagues.
