IX plus 50
It is impossible to look at the legions of high school and college girls and women who have benefited from the ability to play competitive sports and not cheer at the success of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, signed into law on June 23 of that year. “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,” it states, before carving out a series of exceptions.
Whether in soccer or basketball or volleyball or softball or track and field or anything else, athletic participation not only strengthens the body and mind in the near term; it provides lasting life benefits. It was an American shame that for generations, those were largely reserved for men. We’re not fans of counting of male and female slots, whereby investment in large, male-only football programs can effectively force the shut-down of smaller men’s teams, but facts show that both male and female high school and college participation have grown over the decades. Overall, the rise of athletic opportunities for women has not come at the expense of men.
Title IX has also had terrific benefits in opening academic programs, including in STEM fields that men once dominated, to all.
Where there’s more tension between the sexes is in Title IX’s use in adjudicating allegations of campus sexual harassment and assault. Under the Obama administration, a well-intended push to better protect women yielded a system in which poorly trained investigators probed allegations and the rights of the accused got short shrift. We mostly supported a corrective under the last administration, now set to be rolled back.
As with any law applied over the course of a half-century, the legacy of Title IX is complicated. But in the biggest and most important sense, it has established the principle that women and men are entitled to equal opportunities to thrive and learn. A big amen to that.