A major turning point in women's athletics was the Education Amendments Act of 1972 - specifically, Title IX. Title IX states that, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." This applies to all educational facilities, both public and private, that receive federal funding, Thus, by using Federal financial aid to fund students, many private universities must still abide by this act. Because athletics are considered to be education programs, Title IX applies primarily to athletics at educational institutions.
"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
As Title IX applies to athletics, there are three key points that are considered: participation, scholarship, and other benefits. Title IX does not require that the same sports must be offered, but that there is equal opportunity to play. It also requires that female and male student-athletes receive athletic scholarship offers that are proportional to their participation. Finally, benefits such as equipment, game schedules, use of facilities, coaching, and other support, must be applied equally to female and male student athletes.
On the college level pre-Title IX, only 1% of the athletic budgets went to female sports. After its enactment, there was a 600% increase in the number of women playing college sports. The direct impact of this amendment was that it acted as an important first step to give women equal opportunities in education, athletics, and education funding.
Clearly, Title IX opened many doors for female athletics and resulted in a very large increase of females in sport. In 1971, 294,000 high school girls played interscholastic sports. About 40 years later, in 2009, numbers indicated that 3.1 million high school girls played sports. This is much closer to the 4.4 million boys playing high school sports.
It is important that we continue with this positive progression in women's athletics. It is only right that this increase in participation be met with an increase in media coverage. Sadly, the media has failed to keep up with this tremendous growth. If we do not encourage sports media to close this gap, it will hinder us from ever fully realizing equal treatment in athletics.
Sources:
Coakley, Jay. Sports in Society (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education. ISBN978-0078022524.
J. (2014, January 27). Title IX Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved May 04, 2017, from http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/inclusion/title-ix-frequently-asked-questions
History of Title IX. (n.d.). Retrieved May 04, 2017, from https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/advocate/title-ix-issues/history-title-ix/history-title-ix/
Women Play Sports But Not on TV. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2017, from https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/research/article-and-report/media-issues/women-play-sports-not-tv/
(n.d.). Retrieved May 05, 2017, from http://web.mnstate.edu/shoptaug/125th/125th/1960s/60s%20image%20gallery.htm