Title IX was a game-changer, but women are still fighting for an equal playing field
Title IX was a game-changer, but women are still fighting for an equal playing field
Imagine that you live in a society where girls and women are virtually excluded from playing sports and there is no such thing as a women’s athletic scholarship — and even if there were, there is no legal framework in place to protect girls and women against discrimination when it comes to equal access to resources that help sports programs thrive, including facilities, equipment and coaches.
Astonishing, right? That is what the U.S. looked like for girls and women pre-Title IX — limiting and stifling.
It took bold action from members of Congress such as Reps. Patsy Mink, Birch Bayh and Edith Green, and advocates like Bernice Sandler and Billie Jean King, to demand more for girls and women in the United States. Thanks to the tenacity and grit of the trailblazers who preceded us, Title IX was signed into law on June 23, 1972, paving a path to progress in sports and education that we continue to champion and protect so girls and women can play, compete and lead — in sports and beyond — without barriers.
