Among a broad range of topics covered at the three-day conference, one of the most pressing is the need to increase interest in and improve access to sports for girls and women of color.
A conference marking the 40th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation that prohibits gender-based discrimination at educational institutions that receive federal funds, proved a time for enthusiasm about how much progress has been made while also noting the huge barriers to equality that still exist. The presenters and attendees explored topics ranging from injuries to policy to research.
“Our objective in holding this conference is to look to the future in terms of where research needs to go and where efforts need to be put into better understanding the impacts and influences of Title IX,” said Dr. Katherine Babiak, director of the SHARP (Sports, Health, Activity Research and Policy) Center for Women and Girls and associate professor of sport management in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Michigan.
Title IX at 40 was organized by the SHARP Center, an interdisciplinary research center founded by the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) and the University of Michigan’s Institute for Research on Women and Gender and the School of Kinesiology. The center’s mission is to advance research and policy to enhance the lives of women and girls through sport, play and movement.
“There’s a general frustration with the fact that 40 years after Title IX we are still seeing most schools not in compliance with the law. There’s a real desire to figure out how to change that,” says Neena Chaudhry, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, a panelist at the session “Continuing the Progress: The Role of Research on Outcomes and Policy.”
Participants say the conference was not only informative but also turned out to be strategically effective in terms of having presenters from diverse perspectives and disciplines.
One area that came up across disciplines was how to understand and break down the barriers that impede the participation of girls and women of color in sports, according to organizers.
