Essay on Gender Equality In Sports

The literature review of this article focuses on Title IX itself, as well as statistical numbers that provide the reader knowledge about the impact it has had. Title IX is a comprehensive federal law that has removed many barriers that once prevented people, on the basis of sex, from participating in educational opportunities and careers of their choice (Bower & Hums, 2013). Acosta and Carpenter (2012) reported that the number of female athletes playing college sports has risen from 16,000 in 1968 to over 200,000 in 2012. Although the increased number of opportunities has provided women the chance to participate in the sport, the percentage of women coaching women’s teams has decline over time from 90% in 1972 to 42.9% in 2012 (Acosta & Carpenter, 2012). Alongside coaching is the lack of women working in intercollegiate administration. In 1972, the percentage of female athletic directors overseeing women’s programs was 90%, Today, the percentage of female athletic directors is 20.3%, a small increase from 2010

Before Title IX was signed by President Nixon on June 23 and went into effect on July 1 of 1972, both women and young girls were excluded from many activities that men and young boys were allowed to do. Since the passing of Title IX, women have excelled in all sports tremendously. This essay will argue that because of Title IX, women can now participate in various activities and sports. Title IX of Educational Amendments prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving any type of financial aid, and because of this enactment made by Congress in 1972, women have left their mark on sports history.

"Gender Oppression Involving Men's and Women's Sports." : Analysis of a Scholarly Source: Equal Pay? Not on the Basketball Court" by David Woods. N.p., 28 Oct. 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2015. .

While Title IX is often thought of “the women’s sports bill”, the history and progression of Title IX suggests a far more complex history. In fact, as Amanda Ross Edwards suggests, Title IX’s shift was reaction to public conflict about the bill that was spurred after the bill’s creation. The conflicts surrounding the development of Title IX suggests that debates about who should be included in educational spaces and who should be excluded from those spaces did not cease upon the Brown vs. Board of Education or after the development of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As we examine the controversy and discourse of Title IX—especially regarding women in sports—it becomes clear that the American public was still very much interested in creating

The idea of equity in society particularly in athletics has been a major topic in athletics for many years. However, in spite of the long and storied history of the fight for equity in athletics we still see a lot of misunderstanding especially involving one particular law. This law is Title IX which has a number of awful misconceptions associated with it even from female athletes themselves. One misconception that is very popular especially among the critics of Title IX is the idea that “Title IX exists to force to schools to drop men’s sport’s”(Kane, pg. 3). This is something that was reinforced by an report authored by Dr. Mary Jo Kane who is a Professor at the University of Minnesota regarding the 40th anniversary of Title IX. Dr. Kane indicated that she opens her sport sociology class discussions on Title IX by asking her class what they know about this subject. Dr. Kane indicated in her report that Title IX “remains a mystery to the vast majority of her students, both male and female” (Kane, pg. 3). Dr. Kane goes on to point out the misconception mentioned above is commonly said by her students including her female D1 scholarship athletes who are the ones that have benefitted most from this law. Overall Title IX is a great law even if it is a law that takes a lot of bad press although this is largely due to the actions or in some cases lack thereof from the leaders who reside in college athletics.

Members of the University of Illinois’s men’s swim team filed a lawsuit in 1993 claiming that the school was discriminating against them by cutting their team and not the women’s swim team. The members claimed that this decision was in violation of Title IX, a law that prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender, along with the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The University of Illinois made the decision to cut the men’s swim team due to budgetary limitations. Along with the men’s swim team, the men’s diving, men’s fencing, and women’s diving team were also cut for the same reason. There were many instances previous to this case where female athletes have filed lawsuits claiming that they were being discriminated against, and that the institution was in violation of

Over two decades have passed since the enactment of Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded education, including athletics. As a result of Title IX, women and girls have benefited from more athletic participation opportunities and more equitable facilities. Because of Title IX, more women have received athletic scholarships and thus opportunities for higher education that some may not have been able to afford otherwise. In addition, because of Title IX the salaries of coaches for women's teams have increased. Despite the obstacles women face in athletics, many women have led and are leading the way to gender equity.

This article specifically focuses on gender issues and the possible harm that Title IX has caused on male sports while trying to help females. It discusses the college’s decisions about how to adjust to Title IX, such as whether cutting male programs is really a

This law provides that no person, despite their gender, may be denied any funding in a program that receives federal assistance. It is also dependent on one of three factors, the most important being that it is based on the ratio of the student body. For example, if a school has a male to female ratio of 60:40, then the funds must be allocated so that forty percent of the school’s athletic budget meets the criteria to provide for the percentage of female students. As a result, many men’s collegiate athletics programs have been cut in order to provide financial space for women’s teams, despite some of these men’s programs being incredibly successful. While Title IX has succeeded in its mission for women, it should be revised in order to prevent the reduction of successful men’s athletic

This past June marked the 40th anniversary of Title IX, a United States law stating that 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 education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Although the wide spectrum in which Title IX covers includes many educational issues, its application to NCAA athletics has especially been confounded, because, unlike most educational institutions, athletic programs are gender-segregated by sport. In terms of intercollegiate athletics, Title IX essentially states that that all academic institutes of higher education are

Title IX came to be in 1972. It was put in place by Congress and became an educational amendment. This law has specific sections, and one section states that girls and women who are in federally- funded education programs also including athletics are not to be discriminated against. It is no secret that females have more of a hardship than men in a lot of areas with sports being one of those top areas. This amendment ensures that girls and women will get the same opportunity and fairness in athletics just like men do. In result, females have even had better facilities as well as the equal opportunities. Things have gotten better for females, but this amendment was not welcomed in the beginning when it was first implemented. People complained that boy’s/men’s sports would suffer a loss because of this, specifically the NCAA and high school administrators. “Title IX passed with little controversy in 1972. Soon after Title IX passed, however, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and high school administrators complained that boys' sports would suffer if girls' sports had to be funded equally. Regulations about how to implement the law were not released until two years later, and these regulations did not go into effect until July 1975. Even then, the Office of

Athletics: Title IX regulations allow a school to sponsor sex-segregated sports based on competitive skill, level of contact, and/or relevant research-based medical knowledge regarding the impact on the

Over 400 Division I men’s athletic teams have been disbanded from existence since the inception of Title IX. Title IX, implemented in 1972, “is a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity.” (Keating) Title IX has achieved great success with women’s sports since the inception and the number of females in sports is six times greater since the inception of Title IX (diversity.siu.edu). Although it has had great strides with women, it is disadvantaging men, especially in athletics. Title IX requires that colleges give the same amount of scholarships to women as they do men. On paper, this seems to be a great idea, but the consequences were never taken into consideration and caused tremendous problems. In order to give the same amount of scholarships to men and women and be compliant with Title IX, men’s athletic teams have been cut in the process. Men losing the opportunity to receive scholarships for their respective sport at a college of their choice and sports teams getting cut is an issue that needs to be solved. Men’s sports teams cannot keep on being cut, for there are ways in which Title IX must be enhanced to benefit everyone. The problems of men’s athletic teams being cut can be solved by reducing outrageous spending, add women’s programs, and give more control to colleges.

Women’s equality is an issue that has been around for awhile. While women have been given many rights to increase equality, including the right to vote and go to college, the problem hasn’t completely vanished. One area that still sees this is in sports. Women’s sports do not draw nearly as many fans and are not covered in the media as much as men’s sports, pay differences between male and female athletes are large, and female athletes have to wait longer to start their professional career than men, which risks their professional career before it even starts.

Title IX forces schools and other athletic programs to adjust to this rule. This means that traditional men’s program now have to share funding with women’s sports. ("Title IX Legal Manual”).