Report Outline
Sexism in the Sports World
Title Ix's Impact on Athletics
Prospects for Change in Future
Special Focus
Sexism in the Sports World
Movement for Equal Athletic Opportunities
The Belife that athletics helps people develop good health and physical fitness has long been held by the vast majority in our society. But until the last few years, sports-conscious America was concerned primarily with men's sports. As a result, women have lagged far behind in every aspect of sports participation, from facilities and coaching to media coverage. Inequities facing women in sports have extended from kindergarten through college, from the public playground through the professional ranks.
There has been some change in the situation in the last few years, primarily as a result of the women's rights movement. One observer has said that the women's movement “made both sexes aware of the huge inequities in every area of work and play, and made it easier for women to demand access to the money, the training and the facilities available to the other sex.” Much of the incentive to open new areas in sport to women has come from legal action growing out of existing federal and state laws. The most important government ruling affecting women in sports was based on a provision of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX of the Education Amendments states:
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. |
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