Celebrate the 23rd National Girls & Women in Sports Day

2/04/2009

National Girls & Women in Sports Day began in 1987 as a day to remember Olympic Volleyball player Flo Hyman for her athletic achievements and her work to assure equality for women's sports.  Events are conducted around the country and on Capitol Hill throughout the month to celebrate the athletic achievements of girls and women and to promote the continued expansion of opportunities for girls to play sports and live physically active lives.

Read about activities around the country >>

Despite the stunning advances made in the 35 years since Title IX was enacted, high school girls still receive 1.3 million fewer participation opportunities than do boys, and evidence suggests that the money spent on girls’ sports programs lags significantly behind the money spent on boys' programs.  But unlike colleges, high schools are not required to disclose any data on gender equity in sports, making it difficult for schools, students and parents to identify sources of inequality and ensure fairness in their schools’ athletics programs.

The High School Athletics Accountability Act of 2007 (H.R. 901) and the High School Sports Information Collection Act of 2007 (S. 518) would address continuing and widespread inequities by requiring high schools to report information (much of it already collected by the schools) on the gender breakdown of their teams and athletics expenditures.  This information will allow schools, parents and students to evaluate their athletics programs to make sure that they are treating boys and girls equally. Encourage your elected officials to support and work to pass this year these two important, bipartisan bills!

Email your Senators and Representative today!

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