Title+IX

=Title IX=

General Overview
Title IX was an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and was passed on June 23, 1972. 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" (The document may be view in its entirety at the website for the [|U.S. Department of Labor]). This was the first law against gender discrimination in the educational system. This law set in motion the rapid movement of women into education. Subjects and courses previously attended by men were being dominated by women. The number of women getting bachelor's degrees surpassed the number of men and even the number of women in historically male dominated program increased. Title IX was a victory for women's educations supporters and the road to Title IX wasn't an easy one. To find out more about the history of women's education go the website for the [|National Women's History Muesuem].

== A classroom of both boys //**and**// girls. = = = =

What We Believed Before
Before Title IX we still believed that men were superior to women and that men should be given more opportunities in education. There were many courses and programs that women were not allowed to participate in. Women were often held to a higher standard for admission to schools and in some instances not allowed in a school at all. Athletics were also dominated by men and the idea of having women join the men's teams was considered outrageous. Even when Title IX was brought up in congress, very few people thought of the effect it would have on athletics. Before Title IX women were not considered to be worth as much as men. Before Title IX women trying to get an education ran in to road block after road block and knew that it would not be an easy trip.

What We "Believed" After
After Title IX we believed that women should be allowed in school courses, subject and programs and that they should be given the same opportunities as men. Our thinking shifted from thinking that women were inferior to thinking that women were equally intelligent and should be given the chance to make something of their lives by going to school and learning what they want to learn. We believed that women should have equal opportunities to play sports so women's sports teams were created. After Title IX we believed that women had worth, we believed that women would make a difference.

How We Sometimes Still Act As Though We Do Not Believe
Although Title IX was a great step forward in the field of education, there are times that we still sometimes act like we don't believe that women should have the same opportunities as men. Many men still think women are inferior and treat them in such a way. There are a large number of men that still do not believe that women have worth. Many schools often are gender biased in certain areas, such as sports, courses, or even entire subjects. Subject like math and science are examples of these fields dominated by men and one's in which women are discouraged from being interested. These prejudices are still alive today but society as a whole has come a long way and Title IX was a vital piece of that educational shift.

References:
-U.S. Department of Labor: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management http://www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/titleix.htm

-Educational Development Center Inc. http://www2.edc.org/GDI/publications_SR/t9digest.pdf

-National Women's history Museum http://www.nwhm.org/exhibits/Education/Introduction.html

Photo Credit:
-Boys and Girls Town of Missouri http://www.bgtm.org/default.asp