GENDER EQUITY IN ATHLETICS

Grace Howrigon
Social Justice and Ethics
 Gender Equity in Athletics and Social Justice
■ This topic is important because we preach equality as a country, yet don’t always
abide by it
■ The general false perception is that women now have equal opportunities in all
areas of athletics due to Title IX, however:
– Schools are providing 1.3 million fewer chances for girls to play sports in high
school as compared to boys
– While more than half of the students at NCAA schools are women, they receive
only 44% of the athletic participation opportunities
– Female athletes at the typical Division I-FBS school receive roughly:
■ 28% of the total money spent on athletics
■ 31% of the recruiting dollars
■ 42% of the athletic scholarship dollars
What is Title IX?
■ Designed to limit discrimination by sex and sexual harassment in public schools and
other government-funded institutions
– Academics – Schools are prohibited from restricting admission or participation
in activities based on sex
– Athletics – Male and female students must have equal opportunity for
participation
■ Consequences on stakeholders if not compliant – If a school is in violation of Title
IX, a claim may be filed in court or with the Office of Civil Rights, which has the
power to limit federal funding to that school
 Women in Coaching
■ The spike in female athletes hasn't led to a corresponding rise in women coaches – has had
the opposite effect
■ While women coached more than 90% of women's teams in 1972, today that number has
dropped to about 43%
■ The percentage of men's teams coached by women has continued to hover around 3%
■ Examples of differences in average Men’s vs Women’s college coaches salary in the NCAA:
– Texas: Men’s Coach - $1,639,237 Women’s Coach - $275,758
– Baylor: Men’s Coach - $1,439,664 Women’s Coach - $339,163
– Vanderbilt: Men’s Coach - $1,345,548 Women’s Coach - $241,518
– Alabama: Men’s Coach - $1,276,101 Women’s Coach - $209,179
– Kansas: Men’s Coach - $1,258,997 Women’s Coach - $180,953
– Auburn: Men’s Coach - $1,168,445 Women’s Coach - $220,364
– Florida: Men’s Coach - $1,138,765 Women’s Coach - $250,267
http://www.shfwire.com/college-coaching-women-still-make-
pennies-dollar/
Personal Impact
■ This impacts my life, personally, because:
– I want to coach at a higher level, however, the average salary for women in
collegiate coaching is concerning
– I want my kids, if girl(s), to have the same opportunities as boys
– As a college coach now, it makes me more aware of the financial aspect in
regards to recruiting, equipment dollars, etc.
Sources
■ Title IX. (2014). Retrieved February 16, 2016, from
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/inclusion/title-ix-frequently-asked-
questions.
■ College coaching: Where women still make pennies on the dollar | Scripps Howard
Foundation Wire. (2015). Retrieved February 16, 2016, from
http://www.shfwire.com/college-coaching-women-still-make-pennies-dollar.
■ Know Your IX. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2016, from http://knowyourix.org/title-
ix/title-ix-the-basics.