Title IX turns 50: Progress has been made with still more to do

<p>“The scope of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_IX">Title IX</a> extends well beyond athletics,” says <a href="https://share.transistor.fm/s/de5df1e1">Dr. Ashely Baker</a>, chief diversity officer for <a href="https://msuspartans.com">Spartan Athletics</a>. “Title IX legislation was really focused broadly on access to education and access to opportunities for women, and sport has been a space where we've really been able to see that more tangibly than in other places. When you think about the root and the focus of what this initial legislation was about, it was looking at what was happening in education and employment and areas that weren't covered under the Civil Rights Act that women were wanting to have access to. We're talking about admissions, recruitment, housing, financial aid, and making sure that there was no discrimination against women when these resources or opportunities were allocated or becoming available and that women weren't excluded from that.”</p><p>Baker talks about the significance of the <a href="https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/bernice-sandler">“Godmother of Title IX” Bernice Sandler</a> and discusses how Title IX has evolved.</p><p>“We have certainly made progress. There is no doubt about the fact that women and girls have been afforded more opportunity. But when you start to really look at the details and the climate of where we are in sports and across society, we're not as far along as we tend to say we are. We've seen an increase in the number of girls participating in sport at all levels and access to more careers. So, we've opened this door, and there are more women like me who have opportunities we're able to pursue, but we're still faced with several barriers. We still encounter challenges because the bias still exists. Maybe not the overt discrimination, as, ‘Hey, go home and have kids and be in the kitchen.’ But it can still be difficult to really thrive and persist in some areas.”</p><p>How would you like to see Title IX evolv