Title IX - Gender Equity in Education

On June 23, 1972, Title IX, an unprecedented effort to end sex discrimination in education, became the law of the land. While most famous for its requirement that schools provide girls with equal athletic opportunities, the law applies to all educational programs that receive federal funding, and to all aspects of a school's educational system. Title IX benefits both males and females and is the lynchpin of thirty-five years of efforts to promote and establish gender equity in schools. The ACLU Women's Rights Project was established in 1972, the same year Title IX went into effect, and has been fighting for women's equality and empowerment ever since. With the help of affiliates throughout the United States, the ACLU has garnered huge successes in preserving and promoting Title IX's goal of gender equity over the past thirty-five years. PODCAST ACLU of Washington Legal Director Sarah Dunne talks about past Title IX cases podcast | streaming Sex Segregated Schools: Separate and Unequal The ACLU Women's Rights Project works to ensure that public schools do not become sex-segregated and that girls and boys receive equal educational opportunities. In recent years, many school districts have introduced programs that allow for expanded use of single-sex education, often presenting these programs as quick-fix solutions to the array of problems facing many public schools. This trend sharply accelerated in October 2006, when the U.S. Department of Education announced new Title IX regulations making it easier for public schools to implement single-sex schools and classrooms.   Title IX and Sexual Violence in Schools Sexual violence in schools and on campus is a pressing civil rights issue: when students suffer sexual assault and harassment, they are deprived of equal and free access to an education.  Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity that receives federal funding. Title IX is a powerful tool for students who want to combat sexual assault, including rape, and sexual harassment at school and on college campuses.   MORE > HuffingtonPost: Emily Martin Blogs on Title IX > Facts At A Glance > What Can You Do...? > Clients in the ACLU's Title IX Work > Women's Rights at the ACLU

FACTS AT A GLANCE

We Have Come a Long Way…

• In 2001,
  • 41.5% of high school athletes in the U.S. were women, compared to 7.4 percent in 1972.
  • 43% of college varsity athletes were women – an increase of more than 403% compared to 1971.
  • 69% of junior high students, compared with 26% in 1993, said that their schools have a policy to deal with sexual harassment and complaints.

• In 2003-04,
  • Women earned 57% of all bachelor's degrees,
  • Women earned 59% of all master's degrees, compared to 49% in 1979-80.
  • Women earned 47% of all doctoral level degrees, compared to 30% in 1979-80.

• In 2006,
  • 2.95 million women athletes played competitive sports, compared to fewer than 300,000 in 1972.

• Today, in 2007,
  • The number of women participating in college athletics exceeds 166,000, compared to just 32,000 in 1972.

But, We Still Have a Long Way To Go…

• In 2000,
  • 36% of eighth grade boys compared to 27% of eighth grade girls performed at or above a level deemed proficient in science and math.
  • 21% of twelfth grade boys compared to 16% of twelfth grade girls performed at or above a level deemed proficient in science and math.

• In 2001, 83% of girls and 79% of boys attending public junior high schools experienced some form of sexual harassment.
• In 2002,
  • Women received only 20% of computer science and engineering-related technology bachelor's degrees.
  • For every new dollar going into college athletics at the Division I and II levels, male sports received 65 cents while female sports received 35 cents.
  • Only 21% of full professors at colleges and universities were women.
  • Phone surveys by the National Women's Law Center found that about half of the states have no employee designated to coordinate efforts to comply with Title IX, despite legal requirements that an employee fill this role.

• In 2003, male athletes enjoyed 1.1 million more high school athletic participation opportunities than female athletes, 57,000 more college opportunities (out of a total of 400,000) and $133 million more in athletic scholarship assistance.
• Today, in 2007, female participation in intercollegiate sports remains below pre-Title IX male participation:
  • While 170,384 men played college sports in 1971, only about 166,000 women play college sports today.
  • While 53% of the students at Division I schools are women, female athletes in Division I receive just 32% of the funds to recruit new athletes, 37% of total athletics expenditures, 45% of total athletic scholarships, and 44% of the opportunities to play intercollegiate sports.

(Statistics courtesy of National Women's Law Center, Breaking Down the Barriers: A Legal Guide to Title IX and Athletic Opportunities (2007); U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education (2006); National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2002-03 NCAA Gender Equity Report; and National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, Title IX at 30: Report Card on Gender Equity (2002).)

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