Today is the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, a federal law enacted in 1972 to ensure women and girls are given opportunities to achieve their dreams through education, sports and scholarships.
Prior to 1972, there were virtually no college scholarships available for women to play sports. Women were fortunate if they even had a sports team at their schools. They often had no locker rooms, low-quality uniforms, old training equipment, no travel stipends, absurd practice schedules, and no championship opportunities. It’s no surprise that only 1 in every 27 girls played sports.
Today, 2 in 5 girls play sports! Over 100,000 women play college sports and about 3 million play high school sports. These opportunities are in large part due to Title IX.
Now, 50 years later, women and girls are fighting for equal access to athletic opportunities again, just as they were when Joe Biden first ran for Senate.
Girls across the nation have been forced to give up their places on winner’s podiums to males who identify as females.
This is why Family Policy Alliance launched #SaveGirlsSports two years ago, and we’ve been partnering with our alliance of state family policy councils and other national allies to ensure that girls’ sports remain just for girls ever since.
Thankfully, 18 states have now passed Save Girls’ Sports laws to ensure girls can compete on a level playing field- without the threat of losing their opportunities to a male competitor.
