Wednesday marked the 40th anniversary of Title IX, the federal legislation that prohibits sex discrimination in all educational programs that receive federal financial aid.
A common misconception is that Title IX is just relegated to participation in sports. The greatest strides have been made in sports; the number of collegiate female athletes has increased from 30,000 to 190,000. High school sports participation has increased 1,000%.
Academically, the majority of degrees earned by women at the associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. The numbers lag in what are known as STEM fields; science, technology, engineering and math. The Department of Education data shows that just 17% of engineering and 18% of computer science-related bachelor’s degrees in 2009-10 were awarded to women. Only 25% of the STEM workforce is made up of women.
“The STEM issue is to some of us, a national crisis. The more women that get involved in it, the better off we’ll be as a nation,” said Carnegie Mellon University president Jarod Cohon. There are a number of initiatives aimed at boosting women’s participation in STEM education. A report mandated by Congress released recommendations that research universities do more to attract women.
As to how sports took the Title IX spotlight? Neal McCluskey, of Cato Institute, theorizes, “Women concerned with sports equity have just been a lot more vocal and better organized, perhaps, than women who are interested in science.”
