[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 50 (Thursday, March 27, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                TITLE IX

                                 ______
                                 

                    HON. JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 27, 2003

  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I stand today on behalf of a 
great majority of Americans who support Title IX.
  Thirty years ago, my friend, The Late Rep. Patsy Mink of Hawaii, the 
first woman of color to be elected in Congress, unremittingly and 
dauntlessly challenged old stereotypes like a ``woman's place being in 
the home.''
  Representative Mink was nationally recognized as a crusader for the 
rights of women, minorities and the poor. She co-authored the Women's 
Educational Equity Act, now known as Title IX, which prohibits gender 
discrimination by institutions receiving federal funding. Title IX is 
credited for helping push schools and universities to invest equally in 
women's athletics and educational programming. She envisioned the law 
to serve as a means to reduce and eventually eliminate gender 
discrimination.
  USA Today, CNN and the Gallup Poll published on January 8, 2003, 
their survey results showing that 7 out of 10 adults familiar with 
Title IX think that the law should be strengthened or left alone.
  Statistics will prove why our people support Title IX:
  Women student athletes graduate at a significantly higher rate of 68% 
than women students in general who graduate at a rate of 59%.
  80% of women identified as key leaders in Fortune 500 companies 
participated in sports as students.
  82% of women business executives who played sports said that the 
lessons they learned on the playing field contributed to their success 
in business.

  A Women's Sports Foundation study showed that teenage athletes are 
less likely to use marijuana, cocaine or other illicit drugs, less 
likely to be suicidal, less likely to smoke and are more likely to have 
a positive body image than female non-athletes.
  Through the years, Title IX has diminished the inequity against women 
without depriving men of the same funds and opportunities.
  In 2000, Division I educational institutions spent one dollar on 
women's sports for every two dollars spent on men's sports, and yet 
women increasingly continued to participate in sports activities.
  From 1971-2001, women's college athletic participation increased by 
403% and high school girls' athletic participation increased by a 
whopping 847%.
  This proves that women's interest in sports follows opportunity.
  Let us remember that the women of America comprise half of the 
population of this great country. We share the future with the men of 
America.
  The landmark Title IX legislation is the lasting memory of how 
tenaciously Congresswoman Patsy Mink fought to improve the lives of 
girls for generations to come.
  On behalf of many women and Asian American organizations, I submit my 
position on Title IX to the Congressional Record.
  I support Title IX and all of its' opportunities for women and girls.
  Protect Title IX and let it fulfill its mission.

                          ____________________