Kimberly Simmons studies social movements, co-chairs the National Sexual Harassment State Policy Network’s education subgroup, and teaches women and gender studies and sociology at the University of Southern Maine. She is a member of the Maine chapter of the national Scholars Strategy Network, which brings together scholars across the country to address public challenges and their policy implications. Members’ columns appear in the BDN every other week.
Fifty years ago, feminists advanced an extraordinary policy agenda, despite hostile conditions (Richard Nixon was president and there were only 15 women in Congress). Today, a new generation is working to enact new legislation to address unfinished business and advance feminist goals. During this back-to-school season, the 50th anniversary of Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972 deserves special celebration, study and engagement for expanding its reach.
Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in educational settings that receive any federal funds (which is almost all of them). Although imperfectly implemented, this law immediately opened up new opportunities for women, and continues to provide a tool to demand more equity in classrooms, sports fields and “hostile hallways.”
In 1970,19.5 percent of men but only 13 percent of women completed 4-year degrees. The growing women’s liberation movement recognized the connection between women’s access to education and opportunities for leadership, financial independence and social equality. They crafted Title IX: “37 words that changed everything.”
This policy made a tremendous difference. In 1982 women earned more degrees than men for the first time, and in 2019 became the majority of the college educated workforce. By 2021, 39 percent of adult women had completed four or more years of college, a stunning increase in a few decades.
Title IX similarly transformed athletics. The Women’s Sports Foundation notes that “since Title IX’s passage, female participation at the high school level has grown by 1,057 percent and by 614 percent at the college level.” U.S. women won almost 60 percent of the overall American medals at the Tokyo Olympics, Serena Williams remains the GOAT, and the U.S. women’s soccer team made history this year, winning equal pay in court.
Title IX provided an enormous launching pad, but it did not fix all the structural barriers that maintain sexism in our society. Female athletes today are fighting for equal pay, access to equal field time and sponsorship. Bans attempting to limit access to sports for trans and intersex people create ongoing threats. Sexual violence harms athletes at all levels.
Sexual and gender based violence remain significant obstacles for educational equity overall, from middle school through college, where more than one-fifth of female students will experience sexual assault and many more will endure harassment, discrimination and the challenge of providing peer support. Students of color and LGBTQ students experience even higher risks. This pattern violates Title IX. Stop Sexual Assault In Schools works on educating families about their rights, and implementing Title IX in k-12 schools. Groups like End Rape On Campus and Know Your IX focus on holding higher education accountable, while the Every Voice Coalition is bringing additional state legislation forward to strengthen arenas neglected by Title IX enforcement.
In celebration of this 50th anniversary, advocates are suggesting updates to Title IX rules and implementation projects. The Biden administration has proposed regulatory changes. The National Womens’ Law Center offer suggestions for participating from a feminist lens. The National Coalition of Women and Girls in Education offers nine areas for schools and communities to focus on to genuinely expand equity, including addressing intersections of discrimination.
Beyond the work to improve equity in education and athletics, celebrating the anniversary of Title IX reminds us of the power we have to create public policy that improves our lives. Feminists continue working toward pay equity, ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment, creating paid family and medical leave for all workers, and ensuring reproductive justice — while dreaming up new policy solutions for the millennium, including addressing women’s disproportionate student debt, responsibility for unpaid/low wage essential care work and risks from the climate crisis. Together we can pass legislation to be celebrated in 2072, and imagine a safer, more fair, and more equitable future.
