Title IX

Title IX was passed in 1972 and prohibits sex (and pregnancy, gender identity or sexual orientation) discrimination in any higher education institution receiving federal funding. It guaranteed equal opportunities in sports for women and girls in higher education. It also provided resources and protections against sexual harassment and sexual assault.

A Second Trump Term Could Worsen Inequalities for Women Student-Athletes

Since 1972, when Title IX was signed into law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex by any educational program receiving federal financial assistance, colleges and universities have faced questions about what constitutes “discrimination” under the statute, specifically in the universe of college athletics.

Now, 52 years after the law was passed, the Department of Education is under threat by the incoming presidential administration at a crucial time for Title IX enforcement, as new NCAA policies could spell a threat to gender equality in the college sports space even as female student-athletes continue to gain visibility and marketability.

Stop Trashing Trans People. Get Smarter About Gender.

Throwing trans and nonbinary people under the bus is a terrible compromise to the very authoritarian ambitions that liberals say they’re stepping up to fight. We need more love and support for people who are stigmatized and under assault, not less. And we desperately need more understanding of sex, gender and sexuality.

Let’s equip ourselves with the intellectual tools that will help us understand how would-be tyrants use gender to divide us.  

Half a Century After Title IX, Universities Are Still Failing Survivors: The Ms. Q&A With Nicole Bedera

Ms. spoke with Bedera about her research for her newly released book, On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence, and how Title IX has fared in the 52 years since its passage.

Her findings are appalling.

“The average college expels just one perpetrator of sexual assault every three years.

“One of the administrators … told me that he hesitated to consider something as rape unless it involved ‘a stranger jumping out of the bushes.’ Survivors’ experiences were consistently misunderstood and minimized.”

Pay Women Athletes the Compensation They’re Due

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The fight for gender equality in sports remains a long, arduous journey.

The retroactive NIL (name, image and likeness) payments for former and current athletes included in the pending NCAA legal settlement would represent a new chapter in this battle by offering female athletes a chance to finally be compensated for their contributions to their sports and the universities they represented. 

Misogynist Manifesto: Project 2025’s Plans to Gut Women’s Rights in the Workplace and Classroom

Part two of a three-part series about the 900-plus-page right-wing “misogynistic manifesto”:

Project 2025 eviscerates women’s long-held rights to sex equality in the workplace. Its plans for women students and workers would devastate their educational opportunities, harming their careers and earning power. 

(This article originally appears in the Fall 2024 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox!)

Decisions Belong to the Pregnant Teen: Montana Court Strikes Down State’s Parental Consent Act

The Supreme Court of Montana used state constitutional grounds to strike down the Consent Act, which required minors to obtain parental consent for an abortion. The court’s analysis of these justifications determined that they were clearly intended to obfuscate the antiabortion animus behind the Consent Law.

Having revealed the baselessness of the underlying justifications for discriminating against teens who choose abortion over childbirth, it becomes readily apparent that these are antiabortion laws—plain and simple—that aim to divest teens of control over this reproductive choice.

Keeping Score: Women Make History at the Olympics; Harris Picks Tim Walz for VP; States Attack Voting, Abortion and Contraception

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Kamala Harris chooses Tim Walz; female Olympians make history; new Title IX rule faces legal challenges; JD Vance doubles down on supporting Project 2025; mandating in-person work hurts women; over 90 percent of women engage in civic actions; and more.

The Women’s Basketball Team’s Path to the Olympics Was Paved by Title IX

From Caitlin Clark’s success this season, to the Women’s Basketball Team shot at The Olympics this week, the history of women’s basketball has been paved by Title IX.

“It’s now over 50 years since Title IX was passed and it’s amazing how great U.S. women athletes are doing [at the Olympics]. Finally hearts and minds are getting closer to matching the law. People are investing in women’s sports as a business, not a charity,” said Billie Jean King.

(This article originally appears in the Summer 2024 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox!)

Keeping Score: Kamala Harris Launches Presidential Campaign; JD Vance’s Extreme Abortion Views; Republicans Attack Voting Rights, Title IX and DEI

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Vice President Kamala Harris launched her presidential campaign with Biden’s endorsement; Trump’s VP pick JD Vance’s anti-abortion extremism; women’s health is suffering in the Southeast; the Supreme Court blocked an EPA air pollution plan; House Republicans attack voting rights and Title IX; rest in power, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Dr. Ruth Westheimer; and more.