Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the statute barring sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funds, protects against discrimination in college and high school athletics. AAUW strongly supports Title IX and opposes any efforts that would weaken its effectiveness. AAUW’s 2007-2009 member adopted Public Policy Program states, AAUW "...advocates vigorous enforcement of Title IX and all other civil rights laws pertaining to education."1 Since the law’s enactment, girls’ and women’s participation, scholarships, and share of athletics budgets have grown substantially.
Title IX’s impact on women’s athletic participation is one of the country’s greatest success stories. It has changed the playing field dramatically for girls and women in sports. In 1971, seven percent of high school varsity athletes were young women but thirty years later, nearly 2.8 million young women representing 41.5 percent of high school varsity athletes were women.2 In 1972, fewer than 32,000 women competed in intercollegiate athletics. Women received only two percent of schools' athletic budgets, and athletic scholarships for women were nonexistent.3 Today, women receive 42% of the opportunities to play intercollegiate sports, and 32% of recruitment funds.4
AAUW believes that expansion of athletic opportunities for girls and women must continue at both the high school and college levels because studies repeatedly show:
- Girls thrive when they participate in sports and are less likely to get pregnant, drop out of school, do drugs, smoke, or develop mental illness.5
- Girls who participate in sports develop a strong work ethic and good school habits. Graduation rates are significantly higher for female athletes (68 percent) than for female students in general (59 percent).6
- Participation in sports teaches women important professional lessons that have lifelong influence. Eighty percent of women identified as key leaders in Fortune 500 companies participated in sports while growing up, and 82 percent of executive businesswomen played sports, with the majority saying lessons learned on the playing field contributed to their success.7
- Athletics offers many students a ticket to higher education since the opportunity to play sports helps many middle and low-income students — who may otherwise be unable to attend college — gain access to higher education.
- Organized sports enhance the educational experience by providing opportunities for leadership, teamwork, and competition.
- Organized sports offer personal contacts with adult role models who can provide guidance and support, which are beneficial at both secondary and postsecondary levels.
However, while great strides have been made, evidence suggests there is still work to be done to achieve equality of opportunity for girls in sports, especially at the high school level. High school girls face continued discrimination in scheduling, equipment, facilities, and overall participation opportunities.
For more information, call 202/785-7793 or e-mail VoterEd@aauw.org.
AAUW Public Policy and Government Relations
1 2007–09 AAUW Public Policy Program (approved July 2007).
2 National Association of State High School Associations. 2001.
3 National Women’s Law Center, Equal Opportunity for Women in Athletics: A Promise yet to be Fulfilled, A Report to the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics (August 2002).
4 Ibid.
5 Miller Lite Report, 1985; Melpomene Institute, 1995; Colton & Gore, Risk, Resiliency, and Resistance: Current Research on Adolescent Girls, Ms. Foundation, 1991
6 National Collegiate Athletics Association, Division 1 NCAA Study on Graduation Rates, 2000. http://www.ncaa.org/news/2003/20030929/div2/4020n16.html (Accessed 31 March 2005).
7 Bunker, L.K. (1988). Life Long Benefits of Sports Participation.
