Washington, DC – Today, Reps. Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Jackie Speier (CA-14), Co-Chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, all lead sponsors of H.R. 7336, the Gender Equity in College Sports Commission Act, issued the following statement on the 50th anniversary of the landmark anti-gender discrimination law Title IX:
"Title IX was signed into law 50 years ago today, making it clear that education unfettered by gender discrimination is a civil right. As a result, it transformed not only the classroom, but also girls' access to sports and the benefits of athletic teams, including future scholarship opportunities.
"Over the past five decades, women's athletic teams have proliferated, from kindergarten to the highly competitive and prestigious collegiate level, opening the door for careers and markets in professional women's sports. And with each generation, opportunities have only grown.
"However, there is still a great deal of work to be done to realize the gender equality in sports envisioned in Title IX. Too often women's and men's teams have vastly disparate budgets, marketing, and quality of facilities. This lack of investment in women's athletics has created a vicious cycle. Poor marketing and funding results in squandered public engagement, which then leads to annual decisions by executives to not invest in women's collegiate sports because it ‘doesn't get the same viewership'. This cycle has to stop.
"We need look no further than the NCAA, which underinvested in its Division I women's basketball program, ultimately hurting their bottom line. That's why we've proposed the Gender Equity in College Sports Commission Act to improve oversight of gender equity at the NCAA.
"As Representative Patsy Mink, the pioneer and sponsor of Title IX, once said, ‘We have to build things that we want to see accomplished, in life and in our country, based on our own personal experiences ... to make sure that others ... do not have to suffer the same discrimination.'
"Today, we celebrate one of the most consequential pieces of gender equality legislation as well as commit ourselves to picking up the baton of Congresswoman Mink and pursuing the goal of equality from the gymnasium, court, and field to the halls of Congress."
In response to revelations during the 2021 NCAA Division I Basketball Championships that women's basketball teams were provided inferior accommodations compared to the men's teams, Reps. Sherrill, Maloney, and Speier have advocated for gender equity in college sports, specifically within the NCAA. Read more about their work here.
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