When Title IX was signed into law back in 1972, it outlawed sex-based discrimination at federally funded schools. Fifty-years later, not a single school has lost federal funding because of Title IX violations. Even when schools are blatantly and woefully out of compliance, it has never been enforced.
“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.”
Title IX is one sentence, just 37 words, which gave thousands of women in the United States more opportunities in the classroom and on the playing field. Today, Title IX also protects students from sexual harassment and assault and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
There are many reasons to celebrate the positive impact Title IX has had on women and women’s sports, but with mandated compliance and enforcement, there would be more level playing fields for women all over the United States.
The Women’s Sports Foundation reports just 60% of girls competing in high school sports compared to 75% of boys. Today, girls have fewer opportunities to participate in high school sports than boys did in 1972.
At the collegiate level, 86% of NCAA institutions are not offering opportunities proportional to their enrollment. In fact, while women make up 60% of college students, they have just 43% of the opportunities in college sports. This equates to a loss of $252 million dollars of athletic scholarships for women, per year.
One of the reasons these inequities persist is because Title IX has no teeth. Instead of proactively investigating noncompliance, the Department of Education merely reacts to such allegations. To date, Title IX’s primary enforcement mechanisms have been lawsuits and formal federal complaints where athletes have to challenge their own schools. Studies show around 80% of institutions are out of compliance with Title IX. With no fear of federal funding being revoked, many top universities are allegedly rigging numbers to appear to fraudulently feign compliance.
It isn’t only the opportunity loss at most colleges, it is also the quality of those opportunities which are in violation of Title IX. A USA Today study found that for every dollar an institution spent on travel, equipment and recruiting for men’s teams, only 71 cents was spent on women’s teams. Men’s teams travel on privately chartered planes, while women’s teams fly commercial. More successful women’s teams receive millions less funding than less successful men’s teams.
Title IX may finally get the teeth it needs with a new bill being introduced by United States Senator Chris Murphy and Rep. Alma Adams, dubbed the Fair Play for Women Act. This bill would extend Title IX’s application to college conferences and the NCAA and would allow for fines to be levied against colleges that are violating Title IX. Senator Murphy said, “At its heart, we are attempting to pass a piece of legislation that allows us to make real the commitment of Title IX, and to finish the work that’s been undone.”
Another core tenant of the bill, he said, would be the creation of a “one-shop clearing house for data on how much colleges are spending on women’s sports vs. men’s sports so that everybody can see, without having to do a bunch of independent research and digging, what that disparity looks like.”
Rep. Alma Adams mentioned the bill could give “greater authority to the Department of Education to bring schools into compliance.” Sadly, although thousands of investigations have found noncompliance, the penalty of withholding federal funds has never been levied. Perhaps large fines for noncompliance, levied often, along with the new Fair Play for Women Act will finally give Title IX the teeth and painful bite it has needed for 50 years.
