“An area within women’s intercollegiate athletics that hasn’t had a voice is the status of women of color,” says Charlotte F. Westerhaus, NCAA vice president for diversity and inclusion.
“They have general needs that are the same as all women and they have specific needs. There are issues of sexism and homophobia that affect all women in intercollegiate athletics. There are also issues of racism and classism,” she says.
Those issues and others surrounding equity and access as well as a look at some best practices will be on the agenda at the 2008 NCAA Gender Equity and Issues Forum, to be held April 27-29 in Boston.
In a panel titled Women of Color: Perceptions and Realities, Westerhaus will moderate as panelists discuss the often overlooked unique issues that women of color face. Topics will include the climate female athletes of color face, be it in media coverage or opportunities for leadership.
Westerhaus notes that issues of race and gender are considered divisive, and that prompts many people to try to ignore them. Westerhaus believes the opposite should be true. “If you are truly diverse and inclusive, you will need to at least recognize the value of differences of women around the table,” she says.
“If we recognize the differences and the commonalities of women around the table and work to support and enhance those commonalities, then we make progress. I hope the panel will be able to talk about how to enhance those commonalities so they’re not divisive. If you don’t give that voice, there will be an undercurrent for women of color of not feeling truly included as their whole selves, only as a part,” Westerhaus says.
Karen Morrison, NCAA director of gender initiatives, says: “Most of our attendees want to walk away with both information and some practical resources,” says. The forum will include ongoing Title IX training along with a range of panels geared to diverse attendees — those new to gender equity planning on campuses and seasoned veterans as well as representatives of Divisions I, II and III. “We’re not really at a moment where there’s some overarching, looming issue that we would be talking about. It’s really more about providing resources and policy strategies that people can use in their day-to-day operations on their campuses.”
