[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 83 (Thursday, June 20, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1107-E1108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CELEBRATING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF TITLE IX

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 19, 2002

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Hawaii for her 
leadership and rise to speak on a subject important to women across 
America. Most people just think sports when they hear Title IX, but it 
is so much more than that. For 30 years, Title IX has opened the door 
of educational opportunity to women. But a recent study tells us that 
the door may be closing if we do not act soon.
  Before Title IX, schools at all levels limited participation of women 
and girls. What a different world it was then.
  Back then, many publicly funded universities did not admit women to 
undergraduate programs. They had higher admissions standards for women 
than men and imposed quotas based on gender.
  And that's not all. Women frequently were discouraged from applying 
to law and medical schools or majoring in hard sciences, such as 
physics or engineering. And when they did, equally qualified women 
regularly received less financial aid than their male counterparts, 
with married women generally receiving none at all. Honor societies 
were regularly reserved for male students only, and women's athletics 
were funded at levels far below programs for men. In fact, most female 
athletic programs consisted mainly of cheerleading, and few women were 
allowed to coach athletics or hold administrative positions in athletic 
departments.
  But when Title IX became law, that all began to change. It grew out 
of the women's civil rights movement of the late 1960's and early 70's. 
During that period when so much began to change, Congress started to 
focus attention on institutional barriers to women and girls, like 
education, largely because of how they affected women's employment 
opportunities.
  And there have been real results. In 1971, only 18 percent of young 
women completed four or more years of college. But by 2006, women are 
projected to earn 55 percent of all bachelor's degrees.
  In the legal and medical fields, there have been even greater 
advances. In 1999, women earned nearly half of all medical degrees, 
compared with 1972, when only 9 percent of medical school degrees went 
to women. Women accounted for 43 percent of all law school degrees in 
1994, up from a meager 7 percent in 1972. And of all doctoral degrees 
awarded that year, 44 percent went to women.
  And in athletics, an area that has received significant attention in 
recent years, the gains have been palpable.
  Women now constitute 40 percent of college athletes, compared to the 
15 percent thirty years ago. As evidenced by the trailblazing UConn 
Huskies women's basketball team and all of the accolades and 
championships they have earned, the values women learn from sports 
participation, like leadership, like teamwork, discipline, and pride in 
accomplishment are so very important. Today's athletic successes help 
us increase our participation in tomorrow's workforce, like the number 
of business management and ownership positions. In fact, 80 percent of 
female managers of Fortune 500 companies have a sports background. 
There is no question that participation in athletics has truly given 
women some of the tools they need for success.
  But this month, the National Coalition for Women and Girls in 
Education--consisting of the American Association of University Women 
and 50 other organizations--released a report on the 30th anniversary 
of Title IX. And the news was not particularly good.
  The study included a report card examining the state of gender equity 
in 10 areas. Athletics, an area where we are supposedly making so many 
advances, received a C+. Career Education, a D. Employment and Learning 
Environment, a C-. Sexual Harassment and Standardized Testing were 
scarcely better, receiving C's. And technology, such an important area 
for our economy, received a D.
  And though all Federal agencies that fund education programs or 
activities are required

[[Page E1108]]

to develop regulations to enforce Title IX, until recently only 4 
agencies-Education, Energy, Agriculture and HHS-had done so.
  And there is a growing movement to roll back Title IX protections. 
Funding has been slashed for numerous programs that support gender 
equity in education. In 1996, Congress eliminated funding under Title 
IV of the Civil Rights Act that had for two decades supported Title IX 
and gender-equity services in 49 state education agencies. Attacks on 
gender equity have been growing, and women have been forced to turn to 
the legal system to get the rights they are guaranteed by the law.
  So, there is so much more work to do. We must support and enforce the 
strong compliance standards that are currently in place. And we must 
call on the Administration to take action to do just that. Title IX, 
gender equity and educational opportunity are simply too important to 
let fall by the wayside. We must remain vigilant. Protecting the rights 
of women is not simply the right thing to do, it is the essence of what 
we stand for as Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Congresswoman Mink for her 
continued leadership on this important issue.

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