Title IX

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a United States law, enacted on June 23, 1972, that amended Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although Title IX is generally understood to be about high school and college athletics, the reality is that the actual wording of the statute makes no mention of sports. In fact, the birth of the movement to pass Title IX was focused on the hiring and employment practices of federally financed institutions. In this blog we are focusing on Title IX's effect on women in sports but it is to be understood that that is only one small part of the story.

Below is a picture of the actual Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was passed by Lyndon B. Johnson and later amended to include Title IX as we know it in 1972.

Title IX is only made up of only 37 words. It is astounding what a positive effect those 37 words have had on the lives of women. Please click below to hear some prominent female athletes read the wording to Title IX

In 2002 it was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in honor of its principal author Congresswoman Mink.

Title IX can also be found on the website for the united States Department of Labor as seen below.

Finally, we can trace the roots of Title IX in the 1947 document To Secure These Rights. Please see the excerpt that we have identified below as being a forefather of the wording for Title IX.

We believe that federal funds, supplied by taxpayers all over the nation, must not be used to support or perpetuate the pattern of segregation in education, public housing, public health services, or other public services and facilities generally. We recognize that these services are indispensable to individuals in modern society and to further social progress.