Gender Equality in the United States

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Introduction
Gender equality has been a hot-button topic in the United States for quite some time. Groups have been pushing for equal opportunities for women in politics, the workplace, and essentially all facets of life. Universities aren’t exempt to this push, as policies have been passed to ensure equal rights for women in academics and athletics. Title IX was introduced to the college sports world in 1972. It is a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on gender in schools that receive federal funding. It covers both the academic realm of universities as well as their athletic programs. In the athletic aspect, Title IX was introduced as a way to provide equal opportunities for female athletes (Title IX History). Much has been made about this law, including claims that it takes away from men’s sporting teams at universities. It was widely accepted that men’s intercollegiate football was the big revenue generator for most schools. Some believed that providing equal opportunity for women’s athletic programs would take away money reserved for men’s football, thus making the programs less powerful. This paper will discuss how Title IX truly impacts men’s sports and whether these claims are supported by factual evidence.
History of Title IX
Title IX is a federal law that was introduced in 1972. Its key aim is to limit the discrepancies between gender in education. Title IX covers ten different areas, among which include access to higher education, career education, education for pregnant and parenting students, employment, learning environment, math and science, sexual harassment, standardized testing, and technology (Title IX History). The tenth area covered by Title IX is the one reflected upon in this pape...

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... although Title IX certainly changed the way things are done in intercollegiate athletics as a whole, it is not directly responsible for any changes to men’s athletics. All rules and regulations are enforced by the NCAA, so it is up to them to determine how a university will comply with Title IX. Many may see the law as detrimental to men’s athletics, but at the end of the day, the NCAA has final say on any regulations given to the university.

References
Keating, P. (2012). The silent enemy of men's sports. ESPN. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/espnw/title-ix/article/7959799/the-silent-enemy-men-sports.
Riess, S. A. (1997). Major problems in American sport history: documents and essays. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Title IX History: Living Law (n.d.). Title IX.info. Retrieved from http://www.titleix.info/History/The- Living-Law/Living-Law-2000s.aspx.

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