By Barry Grissom, U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas
We recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of Title IX, the groundbreaking federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal assistance. In the decades since the law was passed, much has been accomplished to ensure that no educational opportunity is denied to women on the basis of sex and that women have equal opportunity to aspire, achieve, participate in and contribute to society.
Despite the gains, though, inequalities in education persist. At the U.S. Attorney’s office we are committed to pursuing the goal of equality in education through continued enforcement of Title IX and other federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex.
Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities operated by recipients of federal financial assistance. The law applies to a wide range of activities offered by schools, including admissions to, and financial aid for, post-secondary institutions; student services and counseling, and athletics and physical education. Schools are also responsible for taking steps to prevent sex-based harassment and responding quickly and effectively to harassment when it occurs.
Congress passed Title IX in response to the marked educational inequalities women faced prior to the 1970s. Before Title IX, women were often excluded from or had only limited access to educational programs. Elite colleges and universities set quotas for the admission of women or prohibited them from attending altogether. Institutions that accepted women often required higher test scores and grades for admission. Once admitted, women had less access to scholarships. They were excluded from “male” programs such as medicine and faced more restrictive rules, such as early curfews. Women faculty were more frequently denied tenure than their male counterparts, required to take pregnancy and maternity leaves, or prohibited from entering faculty clubs. In part as a result of these inequalities, only 8 percent of women age 19 and older were college graduates in 1970, compared to 14 percent of men.
Since 1972, women have made great strides in their educational attainment, benefiting from the protections enacted through Title IX. The percentage of women between the ages of 25 and 34 with at least a college degree has more than tripled. Women now have higher graduation rates and lower high school dropout rates, take more Advanced Placement exams, and earn more advanced degrees than their male counterparts.
Title IX has also vastly expanded women’s access to athletic programs. For example, from 1972 to 2011, female participation in high school sports rose dramatically. Women enjoyed similar gains at the college level.
Because education is linked to other benefits, such as participation in the labor force, increased earnings, better health and increased access to healthcare, the benefits of Title IX extend far beyond those experienced in school.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to enforcing and strengthening the protections of Title IX and striving to ensure that all members of our society have equal access to the training and education necessary to succeed in America.