In addition to working to maintain a strong Title IX and a comprehensive public policy agenda that increases opportunities for girls and women to participate in sports and physical activity, the Women’s Sports Foundation responds to hundreds of calls and e-mails asking for help with specific gender equity, Title IX, the Amateur Sports Act, and coaching and employment situations at the local level. Read about some of the people we have helped.
By Kayan Brown
Published: August 29, 2008
Mother “Pitches” for Softball Team – A mother contacted the Foundation about her daughter’s softball team. In this mother’s state, she said, there are currently an unequal number of girls’ and boys’ sports, and softball is not provided to girls. The mother claimed that the needs of young girls who want to play softball are not being met by the high schools. Instead, she claimed that the activities director believes allowing girls to try out for baseball or wrestling fixes the issue. She said the activities director told her “girls are allowed to participate in wrestling… therefore… wrestling is considered a girls’ sport.” She said that she attended a softball state tournament in which there were 50 participating teams, therefore, it would not be hard to find support for teams if the high schools would make softball available. The Advocacy Department advised her that Title IX requires schools provide comparable participation opportunities to boys and girls, and if schools are not providing the same number of sports opportunities for girls, then the overall participation numbers might not be equal. We sent her Playing Fair, a resource that is aimed at helping athletes, coaches, parents and others ensure that women receive equal opportunities in high school and college sports; A Step by Step Guide to Gender Equity, a resource that gives activists a detailed, step-by-step plan for achieving gender equity; and the online grade your school assessment tool. This situation is pending.
Citizen Champions Change – A concerned citizen contacted the Foundation about a tennis tournament. This citizen’s state was holding a tennis tournament, and she was shocked to see that the men would be earning more than the women in prize money. The tournament required the same entry fee from everyone and players were picked the same way, but the men’s open winner received $1,000 and the runner-up received $500, while the women’s open winner received $500 and the runner-up received $250. The caller was upset that a tournament with a female director would pay the female winner as much as the male runner-up. The Advocacy Department advised the caller to gather a group of supporters to help with her cause and then to speak with the head of the tournament. We sent her the Step by Step Guide to Gender Equity and Purse Equity in Professional Sports: the Foundation Position, a paper that explains the concept of equal pay for both men and women participating in the same competition. This situation is pending.
Woman “Tackles” Inequality – A woman contacted the Foundation about her university’s compliance with Title IX. She said that the universities in her state’s university system have never been in compliance, and she is specifically concerned because one of the schools in which she used to work is adding a football team. She said the school currently has no female coaches and have done nothing to recruit a female coach, though one of the men’s coaches went 0-16. She planned to speak with the board and relay her concerns about the non-compliance with Title IX, problems with adding a football team, and the lack of female coaches. She was also looking into filing an OCR complaint. The Advocacy Department advised her that though her school has an obligation to provide comparable participation opportunities and resources to its female and male athletes, if girls were already not receiving equal treatment, the addition of football might further these disparities.. We sent her Playing Fair, the Step by Step Guide, information on equipment and coaching, and information regarding filing an OCR complaint. This situation is pending.
Woman Prepares for Fight (Colo.) – A woman contacted the Foundation about the gender inequality in her Olympic sport. She said the leaders of her national governing body refused to send the women’s team to a championship tournament that it has always sent the team to before. The organization claims it was not a competitive competition, the team receives no gold medal, and it did not have any money. However, the men’s team has an elite gymnasium, gets sent to more than 14 international competitions, and gets to go to the Olympic Games. The woman said the organization spent more than $1 million on the men but said it cannot afford the total of $25,000 for the whole women’s team to attend the championship tournament. The woman planned on filing a grievance to have the decision overturned and filing a class action lawsuit. The Advocacy Department advised that she speak with lawyers regarding filing a grievance and provided her with an attorney referral. This situation is pending.