Continued Battles for Equality

Essential question

Read and analyze the following documents about the continuing issues surrounding gender equity and Title IX.

Documents

• Document: Help Hold the Line for Title IX (1979) View now or open the PDF version (0.1MB)
• Memo: To: Fred Grunniger, February 15, 1993 View now or open the PDF version (0.7MB)
• Memo: To: Paul Vitek, September 16, 1993 View now or open the PDF version (0.2MB)
• Memo: To: Francis L. Lawrence, August 11, 1993 View now or open the PDF version (0.9MB)

Questions

1. In the years after the passage of Title IX, what threatened gender equality in women's athletics?
2. In what areas did Title IX compliance at Rutgers need to be improved in 1993?
3. How did university officials respond to concerns by the Title IX compliance offer?

Testimonies from the NCAA

"What does Title IX mean to you?"

• Dot Richardson
• Shelly-Ann Gallimore
• Ron Stratten
• Liz Tchou
• Kathy DeBoer
• Judy Sweet
• Ceclia Slater
• Alfreeda Goff
• Donna Lopiano
• Christine Grant
• Andrew Zimbalist
• Nancy Hogshead-Makar

Extension

Freshmen class at Douglass College (1960)

Multi-generation Interview

Interview two women in their lives (family members, teachers, counselors, religious leaders, and so on) about their experiences and opportunities in school. One woman should have been in school during the 1970s and the other woman should have gone to school at least ten years before the present.

Possible questions for the interview:

1. What activities, organizations, or sports were you involved with while in high school?
2. Describe your physical education experience in grade school and/or high school?
3. Did you notice any gender inequity while you were in school? If so, explain.

Is your school Title IX compliant?

Evaluate your school on Title IX requirements to see if your school is compliant with Title IX. Divide into three groups to examine Title IX criteria using the National Women's Law Center's "Check it Out" questionnaire.

Accessible via: https://www.nwlc.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Checkitout.pdf

Also, research how schools learn about Title IX and practice compliance today. Check out Playing Fair: A Women's Sports Foundation Guide to Title IX in High School & College Sports from the Women's Sports Foundation.

Accessible via: https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/advocacy_category/title-ix-compliance/

Title IX Babies

The female athletes of the mid-1990s were a different breed than those who competed before them. Most were born in the early 1970s and grew up with access to leagues and teams that their mothers had only dreamed about. Dubbed, "Title IX babies," many of the team sports players had attended college on athletic scholarships or at least had gotten to play on college teams.