Texas NOW Blog

Title IX, the landmark legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender by institutions that receive federal funding, is 34 years old today.

The fine folks working on educational equity at Education Development Center have an excellent history of Title IX on their website. Here are some highlights:

• The whole deal got kicked off when Dr. Bernice Sandler noticed that President Johnson's executive order forbidding gender discrimination would apply to colleges and universities with federal contracts or funding - and that's most of 'em
• Rep. Martha Griffiths of Michigan gave the first speech to Congress about gender discrimination in education.
• Rep. Edith Green of Oregon, chair of the subcommittee that dealt with higher ed, drafted the initial legislation and held the first congressional hearings on women and education. In one of those cool instances where everyone acted right, Rep. Green listened to the concerns of African-American leaders concerned about the practicality of adding gender stuff on to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act; she proposed a whole new section, which is where we get the name Title IX.
• The jackasses in the Reagan-era Department of Justice tried to limit the application of Title IX. Congress smacked 'em down with the Civil Rights Restoration Act, and then the Supreme Court affirmed the liability of institutions for the acts of individual employees and ruled that plaintiffs could sue for monetary damages. So yeah, y'all got to take us seriously.

We're not done yet. Lots of stupid adminstrative rules still exist that mean women's sports still get less funding than men's. There's still a huge lack of support for women in traditionally male fields. Women don't leave these fields because they can't do the work; they leave because they're not welcome and the workload is tailored for single men.

But. For today, I'm celebrating the fact that some smart, badass ladies saw a problem, took an opportunity to fix it, and gave us the legal stick (and later the carrot) we could use to demand equal rights in education.

Posted by Carrie at 3:11 PM | Permalink

One more reason to love Austin: AISD has established the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. The school will open next August for grades 6-12.

I was surprised to discover that Austin is actually following Dallas here. The Irma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School started this school year, and is rated Recognized for general test scores and Commended for Writing test scores by the Texas Education Agency. Go, Big D!

Posted by Carrie at 6:23 PM | Permalink

The Daily Texan reports that the US Education Department will investigate some colleges around the country to make sure they're doing what they can to protect and promote women in science.

It's good to know that UT has made some progress on being woman- and family-friendly:

In the past, women on the six-year tenure track experienced difficulties if they planned to have children, [microbiology and immunology professor Dr. Jacquelin] Dudley said.

"When I came through the system, there was not even a delay in the tenure decision, now they can take a year off of the tenure clock. I only took off three weeks for my first child and 10 days for my second," Dudley said.

Faculty Modified Instructional Duties is a policy established last fall that allows faculty who are primary caregivers to take a semester off if they find it necessary.

UT also has support programs for Women in Engineering, Women in Computer Sciences, and Women in Natural Sciences. We're often behind other schools in adopting women-friendly policies and providing good resources - did you catch that the primary caregiver time off policy was only implemented last year?! But if a massive, patriarchal, bureaucratic institution like UT can come around, it gives me hope.

Posted by Carrie at 8:24 AM | Permalink

Neena Chaudhry of the National Women's Law Center guest blogs at ACS blog about the current state of Title IX. When those who oppose equity for women can't change the law, they 'clarify' it through regulations. It's a big reminder to us to pay attention not just when legislative bodies are in session, but also when executive agencies are making regulations and putting policy into action. Participation in sports delivers huge benefits to girls and young women. Let's make sure our younger sisters continue to have genuine access to sports.

Posted by Carrie at 10:54 AM | Permalink