INTRODUCTION
According to the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, “It’s hard to imagine that just forty years ago, young women were not admitted into many colleges and universities, athletic scholarships were rare, and math and science was a realm reserved for boys. Girls square danced instead of playing sports, studied home economics instead of training for “male-oriented” (read: higher-paying) trades. Girls could become teachers and nurses, but not doctors or principals; women rarely were awarded tenure and even more rarely appointed college presidents. There was no such thing as sexual harassment because “boys will be boys,” after all, and if a student got pregnant, her formal education ended.”
This shows women were looked down upon and were not encouraged to join sports, nor were they encouraged for more opportunities in education. They were believed to be less capable in the academic field, which is why they weren’t offered higher quality academics.
GOALS
The Simple Civics video from PBS shares the 37 powerful words of Senator Bayhe’s Title IX. He said “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.” This means that Title IX wanted to get rid of gender inequality from sports, education, etc.
IMPACT
According to PNC | insights, it says “More women are attending college and earning degrees. In 1972, women earned seven percent of law degrees and nine percent of medical degrees. Today women account for nearly half of the law and medical degrees conferred in the U.S. In addition, more women work in higher education today, with the number of women among tenure track professors in STEM increasing threefold since 1979. More opportunities to participate in sports – afforded by Title IX requirements — have translated into professional achievement. A global study of C-suite executives between 2013 and 2016 uncovered a direct correlation between athletics and business success: 94% of women executives have a background in sports (over half at a university level) and 80% of women Fortune 500 executives played competitive sports.”
This impact caused an increase of female athletes and encouraged women to pursue careers in STEM and political fields without being rejected and disrespected for who they were
CALL TO ACTION
We can honor and expand on their work by sharing their stories to our community so others can continue spreading the story around, like sharing it to family and friends! One additional thing we can do to honor and expand on Title IX’s work is by adding flyers/posters. For example, we can put the flyers/posters inside or outside of school or around in the neighborhood.
