From The Advocacy Desk: July 2008 Report
By Kayan Brown Published: Thursday, July 31, 2008
In addition to working to maintain a strong Title IX and a comprehensive public policy agenda that increases opportunities for girls and women to participate in sports and physical activity, the Women’s Sports Foundation responds to hundreds of calls and e-mails asking for help with specific gender equity, Title IX, the Amateur Sports Act, and coaching and employment situations at the local level. Read about some of the people we have helped.
From The Advocacy Desk: June 2008 Report
By Kayan Brown Published: Monday, June 30, 2008
In addition to working to maintain a strong Title IX and a comprehensive public policy agenda that increases opportunities for girls and women to participate in sports and physical activity, the Women’s Sports Foundation responds to hundreds of calls and e-mails asking for help with specific gender equity, Title IX, the Amateur Sports Act and coaching and employment situations at the local level. Read about some of the people we have helped.
From The Advocacy Desk: May 2008 Report
By Kayan Brown Published: Friday, May 30, 2008
In addition to working to maintain a strong Title IX and a comprehensive public policy agenda that increases opportunities for girls and women to participate in sports and physical activity, the Women’s Sports Foundation responds to hundreds of calls and e-mails asking for help with specific gender equity, Title IX, the Amateur Sports Act and coaching and employment situations at the local level. Read about some of the people we have helped.
Women's Sports Facts and Statistics
Published: Saturday, May 17, 2008
The Women's Sports Foundation, on a quarterly basis, compiles facts and statistics that are a representative sample of the data that exists in women's sports as of the fact compilation publication date. Click on the Women's Sports Facts and Statistics link below to review the most current fact compilation.Use our search engine (upper left above the menu page) to look for information on particular topics of interest.If you cannot find the information you are looking for, the Foundation also operates an Information Referral Service to help educate the public by providing facts, statistics and background data on sports-related issues for ...
Including Everyone
Published: Monday, October 01, 2007
Promote gender and disability equity in your recreational athletic programs.
Xpanding Opportunities
Published: Tuesday, January 30, 2007
We applaud ESPN's progress in making the X Games more inclusive and detail what needs to be done to ensure further equity in the future.
Take Action! Restore Olympic Opportunities for Women
Published: Wednesday, September 28, 2005
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has taken action to eliminate a net of 126 participation opportunities for women in the Olympic Games in two separate actions occurring after Athens:• Loss of 12 in women's double-trap shooting,• Loss of 118 in women's softball • Gain of four in cycling from the elimination of the women's 500m time trial (-12) and the addition of women's BMX (+16) All decisions concerning disciplines, events and quotas are taken up by the IOC Executive Board. The next meeting of the IOC Executive Board is in November 2005.These actions are in direct contradiction to the IOC's ...
Happy Birthday Title IX
Published: Thursday, June 30, 2005
The Women's Sports Foundation joined a bi-partisan group of Congressional representatives, champion athletes, and members of the National Coalition of Women and Girls in Education (NCWGE) for a press conference on Wednesday, June 22 on Capitol Hill to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of Title IX and discuss concerns with recent efforts to weaken this important gender equity law.Dominique Dawes, current Foundation President, and Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, former Foundation President and Olympic gold medalist hurdler, along with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Hilary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Representatives Hilda Solis ...
Gender Equity in Community Youth Programs
Published: Friday, October 01, 2004
Strides are being made for equal treatment of girls in non-school recreational athletic programs.
California Takes Lead in Sports Equity
Published: Thursday, September 23, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO (WOMEN'S ENEWS)--If former bodybuilder and now Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger lends his signature, California could soon become the first state to require that girls enjoy equal opportunities in after-school athletics programs.A bill prohibiting gender discrimination in youth athletics programs run by cities and counties passed the state legislature in late August, and Schwarzenegger has until September 30 to sign it. He has not taken a position on the bill, his spokesperson said.Advocates for youth sports and fitness programs say that most local parks departments don't provide girls nearly as many activities as boys, and that boys are more likely ...
Discriminating Airwaves
Published: Thursday, September 16, 2004
The Olympic torch has burned out, and our athletes are back in the United States. Women athletes everywhere smile contentedly—American female Olympians brought home nearly half of the medals for the United States. The marquee women's teams were the “Dream Teams,” winning gold in basketball, beach volleyball, soccer and softball. According to Orlando Sentinel Columnist Mike Bianchi, “the Olympics are the only sporting event in the world in which women get equal billing and exposure with men.” In the spirit of the Olympic Games, equality reigned supreme, and the women played on a level playing field and got the credit ...
27 Year Study Shows Progression of Women in College Athletics
Published: Tuesday, June 08, 2004
Women in Intercollegiate Sport: A Longitudinal, National Study Twenty Seven Year Update 1977-2004
GoGirlGo! Tips to Get a Girl Active
Published: Thursday, May 20, 2004
You've heard many of the reasons girls should be active. We know that if a girl does not participate in sports by the age of 10, there is only a 10% likelihood she will be participating at age 25. (Bunker, 1988). Research suggests that physical activity is an effective tool for reducing the symptoms of stress and depression among girls. Sports help girls develop leadership and teamwork skills. Girls who participate in sports have higher self-esteem and pride in themselves. So how do you get the girls in your life to get on the path to being physically active and ...
GoGirlGo! Gets America's Girls Moving
Published: Thursday, May 20, 2004
GoGirlGo! Taps Active Adults and Youth to Help Get One Million Girls Active In Next Three Years
New Proposals Hurt Female Athletes
Published: Thursday, January 30, 2003
Female athletes stand to lose $100 million in scholarships and over 300,000 participation opportunities under new proposals.
Gender Equity in Sports: Whose Responsibility Is It?
Published: Friday, June 14, 2002
The Stakes
The real reason we want equal opportunity for our daughters to play sports is so they too can derive the psychological, physiological and sociological benefits of sports participation. Sport has been one of the most important socio-cultural learning experiences for boys and men for many years. Those same benefits should be afforded our daughters. It is important for all of us to know that:
Teenage female athletes are less than half as likely to get pregnant as female non-athletes (5% and 11%, respectively), more likely to report that they had never had sexual intercourse than female non-athletes (54% and 41%, ...
Recounting Our Thoughts About Girls and Sports
Published: Friday, December 01, 2000
Submitted for publication in the Sports Business Journal - December, 2000Time for a recount that has nothing to do with Florida and everything to do about girls and women. Numbers are important! Girls drop out of sports at a rate that is six times greater than boys by the age of 14. If a girl doesn't play sports by the time she is 10 years old, there is less than 10% chance she will be playing when she is 25. One to three hours of exercise a week over a woman's reproductive lifetime (the teens to about age 40) can ...
IOSC/USOC Reform - Amateur and Olympic Sports: The Foundation Position
Published: Wednesday, July 19, 2000
1. Millions of people, especially young children are exposed to Olympic pictogram images on television, at Olympic venues, in publications and on licensed products sold worldwide. These images influence the beliefs and perceptions of millions of men and women about the participation and abilities of female athletes. The pictograms should equally represent both male and female athletes or be sufficiently generic to be gender neutral.2. Support the Ted Stevens Olympic and "Amateur Sports Act" requirement that the United States Olympic Committee and all national governing bodies provide standardized baseline data that is available to the public on a quadrennial basis ...
Will Gender Equity Kill Golden Goose of Football?
Published: Monday, July 17, 2000
Envision a political cartoon. A flying flock of golden geese with beer bellies wearing football helmets. One among their midst divebombs to earth with a smoking tail, apparently the victim of hunters on the ground. Staring up at the dying goose are two amazed women clad in basketball uniforms, shotguns raised to the sky. One player turns to the other and says, "How could that happen, we were only shooting blanks!"Indeed, there is a misperception created by coaches who are paranoid over the possibility of making budget cuts in college football to fund equal opportunity for women in sports. The ...
California Dreamin': Female Student-Athletes Are Flying High Thanks To One Parent's Activism
Published: Monday, January 10, 2000
One day Tom Brady climbed into a plane with his camera, flew over the school district's athletic fields, and came back with photos that proved the lush grass and other resources the boys used were in sharp contrast to the dusty, parched dirt areas where the girls had to play.
Players' Associations and Unions: A Challenge to the New Female Pro in Team Sports
Published: Tuesday, November 10, 1998
In this era of burgeoning opportunities for female professional athletes in team sports, the issue of unionization is frequently discussed. Last week's action by WNBA players to certify the NBA Players Association as their union proves the point. Unlike male professional athletes who have developed their organizing mechanisms slowly over time, the female athlete has not had the luxury of a long learning curve. She has jumped into professional sports structures developed by others. Is the NBA Players Association the right group to handle a fledgling league? The Women's Sports Foundation, a non-profit educational organization, considered by most to be ...
Considerations in Establishing New Intercollegiate Sports Programs for Women
Published: Friday, August 01, 1997
Title IX athletic participation requirements have been an impetus for many collegiate institutions to consider the expansion of their women's sports programs. Following is a list of criteria and issues which should be considered.
If Your Institution Does Not Currently Have a Women's Varsity Athletic Program
1. At what level do you want your athletic program to compete? There are approximately three levels of competition to consider. Division I competition requires a significant financial commitment to afford the acquisition of the best coaches and athletes (salaries, recruiting budgets, athletic scholarship assistance and significant travel funds to enable the team to compete on ...
From the Advocacy Desk: April 2008 Report
In addition to working to maintain a strong Title IX and a comprehensive public policy agenda that increases opportunities for girls and women to participate in sports and physical activity, the Women's Sports Foundation responds to hundreds of calls and e-mails asking for help with specific gender equity, Title IX, the Amateur Sports Act, and coaching and employment situations at the local level. Read about some of the people we have helped.
GoGirlGo! Program Addressing Chicago Girls at Risk - Inspiring 200,000 Girls to Get Moving
The Women's Sports Foundation Releases Report on Chicago Girls and Partners with the Chicago Foundation for Women; Commits to Activating Chicago's Girls Through Physical Activity, Education and Grants
What do Female Athletes' Need?
Because of the growing popularity of women's sports, many people in the general population believe that the major needs of female athletes, from compensation to adequate training facilities, are being met in much the same way as those of male athletes. Because the major women's sports have recently received a good deal of national media attention and produced so many powerful role models for millions of young girls and boys, many observers believe that sports are thriving and lucrative for the participants. The glow of magazine ads and television commercials that depict women athletes seems to say that sport organizations ...
The Health of Today's Young Girls is Threatened by Inactivity
Too many girls are not physically or psychologically healthy, happy or confident about themselves. These girls are in grave danger…and they need our help.
One in every six girls is obese or overweight; and overweight women are 60% more likely to die from breast cancer
One in three girls gets pregnant by the age of 20
One in three girls in grades 9-12 smokes; lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women
One in three adolescent girls will experience depression, anxiety or eating disorders
One in four high school girls reports she does not like herself; 78% of 12th grade girls are ...
The Cause: Why Sports Participation for Girls and Women?
Many people ask me what the Women's Sports Foundation is all about. Well, the Foundation has been around for 24 years, working to increase the participation of girls and women in sports and fitness through education, grant-giving, recognition and advocacy programs. That's what we do, but the "why" is the most important aspect. Although there is a federal law that mandates equal participation opportunities for male and female students in secondary and post secondary institutions of higher education, the real reason we want equal opportunity for our daughters to play sports is so they too can derive the psychological, physiological ...
Role Models: Step Up to the Pedestal
They come in all shapes and sizes. Some stand tall on pedestals while others walk on solid ground. Some go down in history while others rise up as legends. They're heroes and mentors, leaders and role models. Their images are taped to bedroom walls and locker room doors. They walk the earth disguised as parents, teachers, coaches and athletes. They are the chosen ones -- the ones who can make a difference in a girls life at a time when making a difference matters.But if you look at those pedestals and walls, there are few women present. This is especially ...
Girl Power?
It's the first really good Saturday in April but the fifth weekend that the girls of East Harlem Little League are assembling at a field on 112th Street to practice their softball fundamentals. Though the ground is still a little spongy from the spring rain, the sun is bright and warm, and the 11 girls at today's practice, aged six to 10, are squealing happily as they run and stretch their pre-pubescent bodies. "It's just fun," says Iris Garcia, age eight, explaining why softball appeals to her. "It's better than staying home alone, all bored watching TV." On the other ...
Co-ed Participation - Women's Participation in Men's Professional Baseball: The Foundation Position
Can women compete against men in professional baseball? There is great variation in size and strength among the entire population of men and the same is true for women. Although there are large size and strength differences between the average man and the average women, those differences are far less when you look at only the strongest and largest men and women. When you match up men and women with the same lean body mass and size, the differences are small. Any woman who attempts to play professional baseball will, in all likelihood, a female elite athlete with lean body ...
Co-ed Participation - Issues Related to Girls and Boys Competing With and Against Each Other in Sports and Physical Activity Settings: The Foundation Position
Athletic opportunities for girls and women are protected by an array of civil rights laws that apply broadly, including schools, parks and recreation departments and the United States Olympic Committee. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,1 the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution,2 state and local Equal Rights Amendments,3 the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act4 and state and local public accommodations laws5 are all designed to prevent and remedy sex discrimination. These laws apply in various ways to a wide range of programs, such as physical education, intramural, club or other co-curricular school physical ...
Contact Sports - Girls and Contact Sports: The Foundation Position
On August 30, 2002, Taylor Davison, a 10 year old girl and the only girl on her football team, left practice complaining of a headache and collapsed as she walked off the field with her coach. Three days later she died. It was reported that she had taken a hard hit during a full-contact practice on August 27, sat out three plays with a headache, returned to the field and not complained of head pain until her collapse three days later. Taylor's death has caused some people to question whether tackle football is appropriate for children and whether girls should ...
Contact Sports - Male Versus Female Competition in Boxing: The Foundation Position
In contact sports, the primary issue of concern with regard to competition between the sexes, is one of safety and fair competition. In general, sports have separate teams and competitions for men and women because at higher levels of skill and competition, the average male athlete has greater muscle mass per unit volume of body tissue (and therefore greater strength) than the average female athlete. Since most sports involve overcoming the resistance of a mass or propelling a mass through space, strength and muscle mass are critical variables with regard to designing fair competitions. Therefore, pitting males versus females would ...
Girls Sports Matter: 10 Ways You Can Make a Difference
Sports involvement needs to be nurtured and encouraged in every girl. And there are many ways to actively support women's sports, both locally and nationally. Here are 10 ideas to get you started.
Unbelievables!
Female Athletes Attacked During School Competition
Three members of a middle school (School A) track team were attacked when using the rest room at another school (School B) during one of their meets. According to one concerned parent, a number of male students prevented the girls from exiting the restroom, and when one girl became scared and tried to push the door open, she was picked up by a male student and slammed repeatedly into a wall. More specific details of the incident are unknown, because according to this parent, the three girls involved were told by a school official that ...
Title IX Coordinators in State Education Agencies
Alabama James Nuckles Education Administrator Alabama Department of Education P. O. Box 302101 Montgomery, AL 36130-2101 Phone: 334-242-8444 E-mail: jnuckles@alsde.edu Website: http://www.alsde.edu
Alaska Hal Spackman Deputy Commissioner Alaska Department of Education 801 West 10th St., Ste. 200 Juneau, AK 99801-1849 Phone: 907-465-8677 Fax: 907- 465-4156 E-mail: hal.spackman@alaska.gov Website: http://www.eed.state.ak.us/
American Samoa Claire Tuia Poumele Sex Equity Coordinator for Vocational Education Department of EducationP.O. Box 656 Pago Pago, AS 96799 Phone: 684- 633-7117
Arizona Manuel V. Cisneros Director Governor's Office of Equal Opportunity 1700 West Washington Phoenix, Arizona 85007 Phone: 602-542-3711 E-mail: EqualOpportunity@az.gov Website: http://www.ade.state.az.us/
Arkansas Oliver Dillingham Title IX and ...
Success Stories
Female Baseball Player Goes to "Bat" For Equity
A female high school baseball player contacted the Foundation because her school refused to allow her to tryout for its baseball team. The athletic director claims that softball and baseball are equivalent sports, and that she must try out for the softball team. The Advocacy Department sent her Playing Fair, a resource that explains Title IX rules and regulations to help athletes, coaches, parents and others better analyze their school's athletic programs; A Step by Step Guide to Gender Equity, a resource that gives activists a detailed, step-by-step plan for achieving gender equity; ...
Title IX's Interest and Ability Issue: The Smokescreen and the Solutions
Many people think that girls are not as interested in sports as boys. Research shows that boys and girls between the ages of six and nine -- and their parents -- are equally interested in sports participation. However, by the age of 14, girls drop out of sport at a significantly greater rate than men. (Wilson Report, 1988)
Girls and women simply do not receive the same opportunities as boys to play or the same positive reenforcement about their sports participation. Little boys receive balls, gloves and sports equipment by the age of two. They see their images on television ...
Should Football Be Special?
Football asking for special relief under Title IX is a lot like IBM asking for an antitrust exemption! Are football coaches suggesting that because football costs more or brings in more money, there should be an economic justification for discrimination? Will the public accept the explanation, "I'm sorry, I can't afford to give your daughter the same opportunity to play sports as your son because football needs more money?" And what if the public knew that it was a myth that football makes the money to fund other men's and women's programs? Close to 80% of all NCAA football programs ...
Cheerleading - Cheerleading, Drill Team, Danceline and Band As Varsity Sports: The Foundation Position
What does it take to be considered a sport, and what kinds of rights and rules go along with this classification?
Dropping Men's Sports - The Division I Football/Basketball Arms Race is The Culprit in the Cutting of Men's Olympic Sports: The Foundation Position
Division II and III schools, the poorest colleges and universities, are not dropping men's sports. It's the richest Division I athletic programs that are cutting men's swimming, gymnastics and wrestling programs (Olympic sports). Whenever a men's sport is eliminated, these educational institutions blame Title IX and women's sports. They say they can't afford to add new women's sports programs as required by federal gender equity laws and keep men's Olympic sports. What's wrong with this contention is the fact that there are plenty of new dollars going into Division I college athletic programs that could fund both women's sports and ...
Issues Related to Girls and Boys Competing With and Against Each Other in Sports and Physical Activity Settings: A Women’s Sports Foundation Position
Learn what the Women's Sports Foundation has to say about this controversial issue.
Competition Seasons - Girls' Sports in "Non-traditional" Seasons: The Foundation Position
Did you know that some athletic associations are regulating when girls have their sports seasons? The disadvantages that come with this practice are not just wrong, they're against the law.
Coaches and Administrators Refuse to Allow Male Athletes to Compete Against Females
The Advocacy Department is currently working on several cases involving situations where coaches and administrators have refused to allow their male athletes to compete against females. One situation involves middle school wrestling. While the league is coed, several schools in the league refuse to allow their boys to compete against the female wrestlers. A Superintendent of one of the schools said the school “does not want to put our young men in a situation where they would be inappropriately touching a young lady.” A father of one of the daughters discriminated against has filed a lawsuit and a complaint with ...
Common Questions
Can a coach file a Title IX complaint on behalf of student athletes?
Some coaches feel uncomfortable about filing a Title IX complaint and are afraid of losing their jobs. Yet coaches are more likely to know the detail and extent of any discrimination that is occurring than athletes or parents. There are regulations aimed at preventing retribution or harassment. So a school can't fire a coach just because they filed a complaint. If a coach is uncomfortable about filing, complaints can be made confidentially to serve as protection from retribution. Furthermore, anyone can file a complaint. Therefore, a coach ...
Success Stories
Father Forces Sexually Abusive Basketball Coach to Resign
A father contacted the Foundation for advice in dealing with his daughter's high school varsity basketball coach. The coach has a history of being verbally and sexually inappropriate with the players. One girl who was a target of this abuse quit the team because she could not tolerate the harassment. Despite this fact and the complaints from several parents, the school had yet to take any action against the coach. The Advocacy Department suggested the father follow our Step by Step Guide to Gender Equity and sent him resources, including Addressing the Issue ...
"Breaking the Grass Ceiling"
“There may come a day when women will be invited to join our membership, but that timetable will be ours and not at the point of a bayonet.” -- William “Hootie” Johnson, Chairman, Augusta National Golf Club Hootie Johnson will be most remembered for this fiery response to a privately sent July 2002 request sent by Martha Burk, president of the National Council of Women's Organization (NCWO), to admit women members to Augusta National Golf Club. Fireworks have ensued ever since.The NCWO has spearheaded the Augusta debate. NCWO, consisting of more than 100 women's advocacy, grassroots and research organizations, claims ...
From the Advocacy Desk at the Women's Sports Foundation- Girls Want to Wrestle Too!
"My daughter wants to wrestle on the boys' wrestling team, but the coach won't let her.” "My daughter is on the boys' wrestling team, but when they compete all the boys forfeit against her.” These are common complaints that parents voice to the Women's Sports Foundation.