Title IX and Gender Equality in Sports

Paige Whaley

JRN-100 Staff Writer

Massachusetts native, Josie Mendeszoon, experienced fewer opportunities being a female athlete playing ice hockey. 

The sophomore transferred from Union College to Stonehill College in the fall of 2022 and noticed her current school’s effort to support women in sports and ensure that resources are available for all to best achieve success. During her freshman year, Mendeszoon experienced Union’s men’s ice hockey team reefing benefits and having an advantage over the woman. From getting the best workout slots to having multiple locker rooms with TVs and lounge areas, the women’s team was a lower priority she said. 

“Here at Stonehill women get a lot more respect from staff and coaches. The coaches always make sure that everything is getting done (such as our laundry and management of equipment) so that when we show up to the rink whether it’s for a game or practice, we don’t have to worry about anything but playing,” Mendeszoon said. 

Mendeszoon started playing ice hockey from inspiration of her two older brothers. She grew up watching their games as she was born into a hockey family. When she was old enough, she transitioned to playing in a girl’s league and found that girls had fewer resources and support and were treated as less than the boys. 

“The boys had a lot more opportunities when it came to skills sessions, clinics, and the number of leagues available to play in, in general. The moment I switched to playing girls' hockey there was only one league that I could play in that luckily gave me the ability to take hockey seriously and strive for the next level,” Mendeszoon said. 

Title IX of the Education Amendments in 1972, the law that prohibits education programs and activities that receive federal funds from discriminating based on sex, has helped level the playing field and brought more equal opportunities to female athletes such as Mendeszoon. 

As Title IX is celebrating its 50-year anniversary, most Americans say that the law has had positive impact on them. 

A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center of American citizens ages 18 and older, analyzed Title IX and the different views on gender equality in sports and the impacts of sports participation among Americans. Respondents were randomly sampled from those who are members of the Centers American Trends Panel (ATP), an online panel that allows nearly all U.S adults to have a chance of selection based on their residential addresses being randomly chosen. 

The survey found that men and women who have heard about Title IX, are equally likely to say that the law has had a positive impact on gender equality. 62% of men said it has had a positive impact and 64% of women said the same, said the Pew Research study. 

Sports role in diversity and inclusion is important today as it is not only about the individual athletes but the community and society. Although there is still room for improvement, there are sports programs and committees throughout the United States that work towards removing the gap. The NCAA has a committee on women’s athletics whose mission is to provide fair-treatment and opportunities for woman at the intercollegiate level as well as promote all female-athletes. 

Kit Giffen, assistant athlete director for compliance at Stonehill College, is one of the mandates in gender equality at the school in terms of overseeing student-athlete participation, locker room access, coaching access, transportation, scholarships, meals, uniforms, and athletic training. 

“We are all created equal and unfortunately for the past 50 years it’s been a discussion, but more awareness and conversations are required,” Giffen said. 

Title IX has been closely linked to sports and giving young women the opportunity to compete in ways that they did not have before. This includes the ability to receive equal funding no matter the gender for all college sports. 

“Six-in-ten Americans (61%) say funding for women’s and men’s college sports should be roughly equal, but a sizable share (21%) says it should be based on the amount of money brought in by the team,” said the study. 

Furthermore, past high school and college athletes have said that participating in sports has left a positive impact on them in many ways. More specifically, out of those who participated in sports, the impact on their confidence, self-esteem, physical health, and career was influenced positively. 

“More than four-in-ten (46%) say playing sports had a very positive impact on their physical health, and 38% say the same about the impact on their confidence or self-esteem. 18% say participating in competitive sports had a very positive impact on their career or job opportunities,” noted the study. 

Stonehill has been administering the Title IX law and the conversations surrounding it. In the past 7 to 10 years, Stonehill has moved forward with its efforts of creating a more equal community by adding three women’s sports teams: golf, swimming, and ice hockey. Within the school’s athletic department, there is a gender equality committee and an athlete task force that is aware of the industry standards and work toward a conclusion. 

Stonehill’s awareness of the current trends and topics within diversity help to offer programs and education for students and student-athletes. Through different advertisements as well as guest speakers, the school continues its efforts to keep the conversation going. 

“Social media coverage of women’s sports and promoting outstanding student-athletes and program success will help for more exposure,” Giffen said. 

Mendeszoon said that there is a lot more movement and advancement needed to reach full equality of genders within sports however it is moving in the right direction and there is now more attention to eliminating the discrepancy between men and women in sports. 

“It’s not where I would like it to be and there is a lot of things that can be improved but it has taken a positive step forward and will only continue to move in the right direction, it just takes one person to continue the conversation,” Mendeszoon said.