e there is favoritism," said Deepa Darmishtan, 15, a student at Hillcrest High School (Jones, Spence 20). According to the University of Iowa's Gender Equity in Sports, "Title IX governs the overall equity of treatment and opportunity in athletics while giving schools the flexibility to choose sports based on student body interest, geographic influence, a given school's budget restraints, and gender ratio. In other words, it is not a matter of women being able to participate in wrestling or that exactly the same amount of money is spent per women's and men's basketball player. Instead, the focus is on the necessity for women to have equal opportunities as men on a whole, not on an individual basis" (Miningco.com).The academic gains of Title IX have been noticeably apparent. According to the University of Iowa, women accounted for 9% of all medical degrees in 1972. That rose to 38% in 1994. The numbers are even more noticeable in law degrees, where women earned 43% of the degrees in 1994 as compared to just 7% in 1972. Also in 1994, 44% of all doctoral degrees to U.S. citizens went to women, up from 25% in 1977. But it is in sports where Title IX has become hotly contested. Has the bill been as successful on the field as it has been in the classroom? As a result of Title IX, women and girls have benefited from more participation opportunities and more equitable facilities. "Women who were under 10 when Title IX passed have much higher sports participation rates than women who grew up before Title IX, "claims the Feminist Majority Foundation. "Fifty-five percent of the 'post-Title IX' generation participated in high school sports, compared to36% of the 'pre-Title IX' generation. "Because of Title IX, more women have received athletic scholarships and thus the opportunity for higher education than would have been possible otherwise. But the progress women and girls have made under Title IX falls far short of gender equity" (Miningco.com)...
