Across the country today, women will celebrate the 16th Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Organized by the Girls Scouts of the USA, Girls Incorporated, National Association for Girls and Women in Sport, Women’s Sports Foundation, and the YWCA, National Girls and Women in Sports Day will focus on “Celebrating 30 Years of Title IX.”
Passed in 1972, Title IX prohibits discrimination against girls and women in federally funded education, including athletics programs. As a result of Title IX, women and girls have benefited from more opportunities and more equitable facilities. Fifty-five percent of the “post-Title IX” generation participated in high school sports, compared to 36% of the “pre-Title IX” generation. Because of Title IX, more women have received athletic scholarships and thus the opportunity for higher education than would have been possible otherwise. In fact, many female Olympic athletes credit Title IX for the opportunity to attend college through athletic scholarships and to participate in sports. But the progress women and girls have made under Title IX falls far short of gender equity. From the start, the implementation of Title IX has been subverted.
The Feminist Majority Foundation has partnered with the Women’s Sports Foundation to bring you exciting online coverage of the Winter 2002 Olympics. For news, check out the Women and Girls in Sports section of the Feminist Majority Foundation website.
