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This summer we celebrate 50 years of Title IX – a game-changer for women and girls in sports. Before this crucial federal protection, girls made up just 7% of high school athletes. Because there were virtually no athletic scholarships available to women, female college athletes stuck together uniforms. And they faced blatant discrimination, on and off the field. Indeed, 60 years ago, a young girl playing her first tournament at the Los Angeles Tennis Club was forced to step out of a group photo – because she was wearing shorts, not a skirt.
When she arrived at college, she noticed that many male athletes received athletic scholarships, but there was no financial aid for female tennis players. Nationally, female athletes received 2% of the university’s athletic budget.
To make ends meet, she held two jobs—one as a primary school principal and another distributing equipment in the locker room—despite being one of the best tennis players in the country.
Even when she won the US Open, she was still paid less than the male champion — along with eight other female tennis players to sign a $1 contract in protest.
That young girl was me, Billie Jean. Moments like these inspired me to lobby for Title IX and found the Women’s Tennis Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation, which champions women’s and girls’ access to sports to this day.
King faced blatant discrimination throughout her tennis career, both as a young girl and on a professional level.
Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated
Title IX changed the sports landscape forever by outlawing gender discrimination in any educational activity that receives federal funding. Before Title IX, nearly 300,000 girls and 30,000 women played high school and college sports; today, participation has risen to more than 3.4 million girls and 215,000 women.
Still, the fight for gender equality – in sport and beyond – continues. Today, not only do women and girls have fewer sports opportunities than boys and men, but high school students also have fewer sports opportunities than boys in 1972. Since the expiration of Title IX, the proportion of female coaches has fallen sharply. Women make up half of the student body at NCAA Division I schools, but their teams and programs receive only a third of the sports and recruiting budgets.
In addition, transgender athletes are now facing a widespread attack on their rights to play and compete. We have watched in horror as anti-trans athlete legislation sweeps across the nation. While we can and should have a respectful dialogue about evidence-based research and appropriate standards for elite competition, banning transgender athletes is not the answer at all.
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Walker is currently the 10th president of the Ford Foundation.
Thanks to Darren Walker
As founders of the Women’s Sports Foundation and president of the Ford Foundation, we are both committed to strengthening Title IX and extending its protection for all. We were encouraged last year when the US Department of Education confirmed that Title IX protects all students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In other words, sports equality without LGBTQ inclusion is no equality at all. Discrimination against cisgender women and girls in sports and discrimination against transgender athletes both stem from the same, unjust place: a rigid, exclusive notion of femininity. The sooner we get rid of these concepts and welcome all athletes into the game, the better. Because if we strive for equality in sport, we open the door to diversity and inclusion in all areas and in the fabric of our society.
Decades of research shows that girls who play sports get better grades, see greater success in male-dominated fields, and lead healthier lives. These benefits persist even if they leave their sport: 92% of female C-suite-level executives are former athletes, and half played college-level sports.
For trans athletes, who are already battling higher rates of depression or suicide, sport can be a powerful lifeline. LGBTQ athletes report lower rates of depression, and transgender students in states with inclusive athletic policies are 14% less likely to consider suicide.
We must continue to work not only on a level playing field, but also on the development of the game. In addition to the National Women’s Law Center and the Women’s Sports Foundation, the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative leads the Demand IX initiative, so Title IX protections are enforced and expanded. The Women’s Sports Foundation, through its most recent report, 50 years of title IX: we’re not done yetalso calls for policy changes that will help realize the full potential of the law, including girls of color and girls with disabilities, and broaden anti-discrimination protections for all athletes.
And at the Ford Foundation, we know that philanthropy can be a powerful tool against inequality – which is why we develop strategies to provide long-term and significant financial support to transgender communities. In June, we joined the Trans Futures Funding Campaign Pledge to defend against sports bans and gender-affirming healthcare.
Our history shows – and our present confirms – that we can never take anyone’s fundamental rights for granted. Only through sustained action will we build together a stronger, more inclusive legacy for the next generation of athletes.
More Title IX 50th Anniversary Coverage:
• The Title IX Torchbearers
• 50 Years of Title IX: How One Law Changed Women’s Sport Forever
† These women are setting a new standard for college athletes
† Title IX Timeline: The Defining Moments of Women’s Sports
