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FORTY YEARS AND COUNTING: 

THE TRIUMPHS OF TITLE IX 

HEARING 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, 

LABOR, AND PENSIONS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

ON

EXAMINING TITLE IX, FOCUSING ON FORTY YEARS AND COUNTING 

JUNE 19, 2012 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ 
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS 

TOM HARKIN, Iowa, Chairman 

BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland 

JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico 

PATTY MURRAY, Washington 

BERNARD SANDERS (I), Vermont 

ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania 

KAY R. HAGAN, North Carolina 

JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon 

AL FRANKEN, Minnesota 

MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado 

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island 

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee 

RICHARD BURR, North Carolina 

JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

PAT ROBERTS, Kansas 

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska 

MARK KIRK, Illinois 

PAMELA SMITH, Staff Director 

LAUREN MCFERRAN, Deputy Staff Director 

FRANK MACCHIAROLA, Republican Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

(II) 
C O N T E N T S 

STATEMENTS 

TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2012 

Page 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Harkin, Hon. Tom, Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

Pensions, opening statement ............................................................................... 1 

Enzi, Hon. Michael B., a U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming .................... 2 

Mikulski, Hon. Barbara A., a U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland ............ 4 

Hagan, Hon. Kay R., a U.S. Senator from the State of North Carolina ............. 40 

Franken, Hon. Al, a U.S. Senator from the State of Minnesota .......................... 42 

Blumenthal, Hon. Richard, a U.S. Senator from the State of Connecticut ........ 45 

Murray, Hon. Patty, a U.S. Senator from the State of Washington ................... 47 

WITNESSES

King, Billie Jean, Former Professional Tennis Player, New York, NY ............... 6 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 8 

Hogshead-Makar, Nancy, J.D., Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist, Professor 

of Law, Florida Coastal School of Law, Jacksonville, FL ................................. 10 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 12 

Jemison, Mae Carol, M.D., Physician and Retired NASA Astronaut, Houston, 

TX .......................................................................................................................... 21

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 23 

Stosz, Rear Admiral Sandra L., Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard 

Academy, New London, CT ................................................................................. 30 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 32 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL 

Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc.: 

Lisa Maatz, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, American Association of University Women (AAUW) ......................................... 51 

National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), letter ............................................. 54 

Response to questions of Senator Enzi by: 

Billie Jean King ......................................................................................... 55 

Rear Admiral Sandra L. Stosz ................................................................. 56 

Response to questions of Senator Murray by: 

Billie Jean King ......................................................................................... 56 

Rear Admiral Sandra L. Stosz ................................................................. 57 

(III) 

(1) 

FORTY YEARS AND COUNTING: 

THE TRIUMPHS OF TITLE IX 

TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2012 

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS, 

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:08 a.m., in room 

SD–430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Tom Harkin, chairman of the committee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Harkin, Enzi, Mikulski, Murray, Hagan, 

Franken, and Blumenthal. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HARKIN

The CHAIRMAN. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions will please come to order. 

Over the past century, women have made remarkable strides toward equal rights and equal participation in American society. We 

now just take it for granted the idea that any little girl can grow 

up to become a doctor, a lawyer, a famous tennis player, or an astronaut, or the superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy—whatever she wants to be. 

Today, America’s leadership on the issue of equality for women 

and girls is unmatched anywhere around the globe. However, there 

was a time in our country when we could not envision this kind 

of progress. The passage of title IX of the Higher Education Act in 

1972 truly opened the door of opportunity for women in academics, 

sports, and the workforce. Today, we are here to celebrate the successes of title IX. 

Championed by Representatives Patsy Mink and Edith Green in 

the House and Senator Birch Bayh in the Senate, title IX states 

that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be 

excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity 

receiving Federal financial assistance. That’s it—very simple and 

very straightforward. 

And let me underscore two things. Title IX is gender neutral. It 

ensures equality under the law for men and women. And, second, 

title IX applies to any education program or activity receiving Federal assistance. This means that everybody gets a chance to take 

the course of study they wish, to participate in athletics, and to attend school or go to work in an environment free from harassment 

and discrimination. 
2 

It is a commonly held belief that title IX only applies to athletics, 

but that is not the case. Title IX applies to all activities at educational institutions receiving Federal funding. 

We all benefit from gender equality. The highest growth, highest 

wage careers today, careers that are critical to America’s economic 

success and national security, are the same careers that were traditionally off limits to women before title IX’s passage. Well, that has 

changed dramatically. 

For example, according to the U.S. Department of Education, 

today, girls in high school are taking science and math at higher 

rates than boys and doing better in those subjects, too. And though 

there is more progress to make, the percentage of women receiving 

doctorate degrees in all STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, and math fields—has risen steadily since 1972. 

When title IX was passed, almost no women participated in career and technical education. Today, one-quarter of career and tech 

students are women. To state what ought to be obvious, by doubling our potential talent pool in all academic disciplines, careers, 

and sports, we become stronger as a nation. 

Today, we will hear from a distinguished panel: an accomplished 

athlete, a legal scholar, an astronaut, and an admiral, who will discuss how the world has changed for women since title IX’s passage. 

In the last 40 years, we have seen many firsts: the first woman Supreme Court Justice, the first woman in space, and the first woman 

Speaker of the House. Today, outstanding women scientists, athletes, business executives, and military officers are not only role 

models for other women and girls, but they are role models for all 

of us. 

Title IX has so much in common with the great civil rights laws 

of the 20th century, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 

1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. These laws are about expanding the scope of freedom, opening doors of opportunity, and ensuring fair and equal treatment for every member of our American 

family. 

With that, I will introduce Senator Enzi for his opening statement. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ENZI

Senator ENZI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is one of my favorite days of the year. I get to meet some famous people, and those 

famous people have opened the doors so that generations to come 

will have a lot more famous people, famous women. 

And, Dr. Jemison, I’ve got to tell you I’m a little intimidated by 

you. I was part of the rocket boy generation, when Sputnik went 

up and we found out we were way behind. And so to meet an astronaut is particularly a pleasure. 

I’ve, of course, gotten to see Ms. King and her famous swimmer 

here as they performed. And that’s always exciting. 

I do come from Wyoming, which was the first State to allow 

women to vote. And they did that while we were still a territory. 

They were hoping to increase the number of voters so that we could 

become a State. 

[Laughter.] 
3 

Senator ENZI. There’s more to the story, though. When we did 

apply for statehood, they said, ‘‘Well, you can be a State as long 

as you will take away that right for women to vote and to own 

property.’’ And to the credit of that all male legislative body, they 

said, ‘‘We’d rather not be a State,’’ and they waited a while longer 

for statehood. 

But when it happened, we had the first woman judge, first 

woman Governor, first woman councilman, first women’s—most everything, including the first woman to own a bank. So I’m pleased 

with title IX and feel that it fits in with the Wyoming tradition. 

I think it’s one of the most important civil rights laws, and it’s an 

example of what Congress can do when we work together to do 

what’s right. 

We need only look at the statistics to see the profound impact 

title IX has had on opening opportunities for women over the past 

40 years. In 1975, degree attainment by men far exceeded that of 

women. However, women now exceed men in both undergraduate 

and graduate degree attainment. According to the Department of 

Education, women today earn nearly 60 percent of the bachelor’s 

degrees and more than half of the doctoral degrees. 

Any discussion of title IX is not complete without acknowledging 

the role it has had in opening opportunities for women in athletics. 

As Senator Murray has pointed out before, only 295,000 girls participated in high school sports in 1972 compared to 3.67 million 

boys. That was just 7.4 percent of all high school athletes. Since 

then, participation in women’s sports has grown exponentially. 

Today, 3.2 million girls participate in high school sports compared 

to 4.5 million boys. 

Despite this progress, we cannot afford to be complacent. America’s economy is at a crossroads, and we need to graduate more engineers, scientists, and mathematicians if we are to continue to be 

the world’s technological leader. This is where I see the greatest 

possibilities for young women. Right now, women continue to receive far fewer jobs in STEM-related fields. We need to do more to 

achieve progress in that area. 

Our witnesses today are four extraordinary individuals who have 

had remarkable achievements throughout their careers. Each of 

these women represent exactly what Congress set out to achieve 

when it passed title IX, that is, to make sure that women and girls 

have the same opportunities to succeed that men have enjoyed for 

decades. And these four women not only made sure that they took 

advantage of those opportunities, they became leaders and role 

models, encouraging other young women to live up to their potential. 

I look forward to hearing from each of you and discussing how 

we can continue to encourage even greater achievements from future generations of women. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. We usually just have opening statements by the 

chair and ranking member. But because she has been such a leader 

in this area for all of her adult life, including all of her life here 

in the House and the Senate, I’d like to recognize Senator Mikulski 

for a statement. 
4 

STATEMENT OF SENATOR MIKULSKI

Senator MIKULSKI. Thank you very much, Senator Harkin, and 

for your extra courtesy here today. We are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the passage of title IX, and we salute Patsy Mink, who 

led the fight in the House, and Birch Bayh, our colleague here in 

the Senate. 

In 1972, I never thought I’d have warm thoughts toward Richard 

Nixon. But here we are today, and I think we need to acknowledge 

President Nixon’s leadership in moving the title IX legislation forward. Without his support, I don’t believe we would have been successful. 

Title IX is regarded as one of the most important pieces of legislation in advancing opportunities for women and girls. Often, the 

biggest press goes to sports achievements. But title IX was meant 

to open doors and establish parity, particularly, in the field of education, and along with that would be equal participation in college 

athletics. 

In 1972, women were not in many universities. Harvard, Princeton, my own hometown of Johns Hopkins was all male and mostly 

all white. Women were not included in the protocols at the National Institutes of Health. And whenever a woman achieved something, she was viewed as a celebrity rather than a scholar or as an 

outstanding athlete. 

So much has changed. And today we’ll hear from, really, the 

founding mothers and the first to be able to move so many of these 

advances forward. Each and every one of them in their own way 

has an incredible personal narrative, and we support them. 

Billie Jean King. I remember the famous tennis match with 

Bobby Riggs, when we chose sides and you all fought it out. We 

saw you give the word ‘‘glove’’ a new meaning in terms of that challenge. 

But I also remember, as we moved the title IX legislation forward—and Dr. Jemison, as a physician, you’ll appreciate this—Dr. 

Edgar Berman testified at one of our hearings, a distinguished 

Hopkins doctor, a wonderful man, 21st century science, but 19th 

century attitudes toward gender. He said women shouldn’t be given 

equal access to a number of things because we have raging hormones. And I said in my own way, subtle and discreet, ‘‘I have raging hormones because of guys like you.’’ 

Well, we’re beyond raging hormones. We’re beyond celebrity status. We’re into the achievement status. And thanks to title IX, 

women are no longer viewed as novelties when they make achievements. Women are no longer viewed as celebrities when they 

achieve things. They’re viewed as athletes, as scholars, as physicians, as scientists, as superintendents of our great educational 

military institutions, like the Coast Guard Academy. 

Admiral Stosz is a Maryland woman, so I am especially proud of 

her. And we’re reminded of the fact that Dr. Bernice Sandler, then 

a doctoral student at the University of Maryland, was denied a faculty teaching position and was told she was just too bossy for a 

woman. Well, we in Maryland have heard that before, and we don’t 

put up with it. I didn’t put up with it, and I am bossy. But Dr. 

Sandler began to organize. That was the aegis of title IX. 
5 

There have been many achievements, and my colleagues in their 

own way have outlined those. But we’re very proud of all of you. 

You are the founding mothers. You broke the glass ceilings. And 

while we think of you as being the first, for a long time, you were 

the only. But because of your legacy, you were not only the first, 

but the first of many. 

Thank you for what you did. Thanks to President Nixon. And 

thanks to all who have made this possible. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Mikulski. 

Now, we’ll go to our panel. We have a very distinguished panel, 

as has been said. First, I’ll just introduce all of them, and we’ll just 

go from left to right. 

Billie Jean King. Ms. King, one of the all-time great professional 

tennis players, has won 71 singles, 21 doubles titles, including a 

record 20 Wimbledon titles. She achieved the world’s highest ranking five times between 1966 and 1972 and held a place in the top 

10 for a total of 17 years. 

She also has a history of promoting social change and equality 

for women. She founded the Women’s Tennis Association, the 

Women’s Sports Foundation, the Women’s Sports Magazine, and 

co-founded Grand Slam, an environmental initiative for the sports 

industry. In August 2009, another first, Ms. King was awarded the 

Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian honor. 

Ms. King was the first female athlete to be honored with the Medal 

of Freedom and was presented the award by President Obama at 

the White House. 

Next, we’ll hear from Professor Nancy Hogshead-Makar, who is 

a three-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, Professor of Law 

at Florida Coastal School of Law, and the senior director of advocacy at the Women’s Sports Foundation. Professor HogsheadMakar has testified before Congress numerous times on the topic 

of gender equity in athletics and is co-chair of the American Bar 

Association, Committee on the Rights of Women. 

She has received much recognition and many awards for her 

commitment to athletics, including being listed by Sports Illustrated magazine in 2007 as one of the most influential people in 

the 35-year history of title IX, and was awarded the title IX Advocate Award from the Alliance of Women Coaches in 2012. 

We’re also joined by Dr. Mae Carol Jemison, a chemical engineer, 

physician, scientist, teacher, and astronaut. She was the first African-American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit 

aboard the space shuttle Endeavor in September 1992. In 1993, Dr. 

Jemison founded her own company, the Jemison Group, that researches, markets, and develops science and technology for daily 

life. 

She has also appeared on a variety of TV shows, including ‘‘Star 

Trek: The Next Generation,’’ something that I like. She holds nine 

honorary doctorates and in 2004 was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame. 

Our final witness is Rear Admiral Sandra L. Stosz, the Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. 

She previously served as the director of reserve and leadership at 

Coast Guard Headquarters here in DC, where she was responsible 

for developing policies to recruit, train, and support approximately 
6 

8,100 Coast Guard Reservists. Rear Admiral Stosz’s personal 

awards include three Legion of Merit medals, four Meritorious 

Service medals, two Coast Guard Commendation medals, and two 

Coast Guard Achievement medals. 

Again, we thank all of you for being here today, and for your lifetime of advocacy and work. Your statements will all be made a part 

of the record in their entirety. We’ll go from left to right. If you can 

sum up in 5 or 6 minutes or so, then we can get into discussion. 

Ms. King, we’ll start with you. Welcome and please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF BILLIE JEAN KING, FORMER PROFESSIONAL 

TENNIS PLAYER, NEW YORK, NY 

Ms. KING. I want to thank you, Chairman Harkin, Ranking 

Member Enzi, Senator Mikulski, and distinguished Senators that 

are also here. It’s a privilege to be here with Nancy HogsheadMakar, Dr. Jemison, and Rear Admiral Stosz. It’s such an honor. 

It’s a privilege to testify before you this morning as we celebrate 

the 40th anniversary of title IX. Title IX is one of the most important pieces of legislation of the 20th century, and the 37 words 

which comprise the language of the amendment have proven powerful enough to change our society and provide opportunities in the 

classroom and on the athletic stage for countless young men and 

women. 

I’m a pre-title IX student athlete. When I attended California 

State College at Los Angeles in the 1960s, we were still a full decade away from the enactment of title IX. Financial assistance was 

available for all the athletes and for the tennis players, but only 

for the men athletes and tennis players. 

Two of the top men’s tennis players of the time were attending 

college down the road from me. Stan Smith was on a full ride at 

USC and Arthur Ashe had a full scholarship at UCLA. 

Even though I was arguably the best tennis player at Cal State 

LA and had already won a Wimbledon title, I was not receiving any 

financial assistance. I did have two jobs, one of which was handing 

out gym equipment in the locker room, and I thought I was living 

large. But men and women did not have equal opportunities. 

I am very thankful to the people who made title IX possible. 

They are my sheroes and my heroes. The efforts of Congresswoman 

Edith Green, known as Mrs. Education, and Senator Birch Bayh, 

who presented title IX to the Senate, Congresswoman Patsy Mink, 

Senator Ted Stevens, and Dr. Bernice Sandler and many others 

paved the way for us to right this wrong when title IX was signed 

into law by President Richard Nixon on June 23, 1972. 

So often people think title IX is just about sports and athletics, 

and that is because athletes are so visible. But the amendment is 

about education and equal rights. Just a little more than 1 year 

after the passage of title IX, I played Bobby Riggs in a much heralded match at the Astrodome in Houston, TX. This event, which 

was called the Battle of the Sexes, may have been a tennis match, 

but, to me, it was about social change. 

I wanted King/Riggs to change the hearts and minds of people 

to more closely align with the legislation of title IX. I was afraid 

if I did not win we would give people a reason to weaken title IX. 
7 

It was definitely a pressure-packed moment and crystalized my belief that pressure is a privilege. 

Let’s take a moment to look at the progress we have made in the 

last 40 years. Since the passage of title IX, girls’ participation in 

varsity sports has gone from 1 in 27 to 2 in 5 at the high school 

level. In women’s collegiate programs, the increase is more than 

500 percent. 

Tremendous progress has been made since 1972. And the Women’s Sports Foundation, an organization I founded in 1974, has 

been the Guardian Angel of this legislation. All of us at the Women’s Sports Foundation care so deeply about title IX and the protection of the legislation because of the tremendous benefit it brings 

to education and sports, specifically in terms of impact on health, 

emotional, and academic growth of our young people. 

We know we must remain committed to keeping girls in the 

game. Today, there are 1.3 million fewer opportunities for girls 

than boys at the high school level. It’s pretty simple to me. Girls 

or boys can’t play if they don’t have the opportunity. We must remain committed to providing access to sporting and athletic activities for all of our children. 

At its very core, title IX is truly about the issues this committee 

deals with every day—health, education, labor, and the future of 

this Nation. It’s about health and getting our children active and 

committed to reversing the obesity trend and pass boot camp. It’s 

about education, because children who participate in sports and 

physical activity perform better academically. 

It’s about our workplace, because we know that boys and girls 

who are active and participate in sports develop confidence and 

leadership skills which will help them succeed in life. It’s about our 

future and getting more girls and boys to participate, benefit, and 

succeed. The health of our Nation is depending on us to do the 

right thing. 

I’d just like to take a moment—as you know, Senator Birch Bayh 

was instrumental in writing and championing title IX. Wherever 

the statute has been challenged, Senator Bayh has continued to 

champion its intent to ensure that both girls and boys could look 

forward to the benefits of education. In 1971, he wrote title IX, just 

one sentence, and in his honor, I would like to submit to the committee for public record Senator Bayh’s own words of how important he knew title IX was when he wrote those 37 words in 1971, 

because it’s just as important now. 

Senator Bayh was inspired by his late wife, Marvella, who educated him about discrimination against women in higher education 

after her experience of being told by the University of Virginia that 

women need not apply. And he was inspired by his father, Birch 

Bayh, Sr., Superintendent of Physical Education for the DC school 

system for 30 years. 

One morning in 1940, at the family breakfast table, Birch Bayh, 

Sr., told his daughter and son that he was going to be testifying 

before Congress that day. ‘‘What are you going to tell them, 

Daddy?’’ his kids asked. He said, ‘‘I’m going to tell them that little 

girls need strong bodies to carry their minds around, just like little 

boys.’’ 
8 

Thank you for your time and thank you for your dedication to the 

celebration of title IX. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. King follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF BILLIE JEAN KING

Thank you Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Enzi and distinguished Senators. 

It is an honor and a privilege to testify before you this morning as we celebrate 

the 40th anniversary of title IX. 

Title IX is one of the most important pieces of legislation of the 20th century and 

the 37 words which comprise the language of amendment have proven powerful 

enough to change our society and provide opportunities in the classroom and on the 

athletic stage for countless young men and women. 

I’m a pre-title IX student athlete. 

In high school I attended Long Beach Poly in Long Beach, CA—a school which 

is well known as a sports powerhouse. But when I attended in the late 1950s and 

early 1960s, only the boys’ teams played competitive sports against other schools in 

California. The girls never traveled to compete against other schools. We were only 

allowed to compete against our fellow students at Poly. 

When I attended California State College at Los Angeles in the 1960s we were 

still a full decade away from the enactment of title IX. Financial assistance was 

available for tennis players . . . but only available to the men players. 

Two of the top men’s tennis players of the time were attending college down the 

road from me. Stan Smith was on a full ride at USC and Arthur Ashe had a full 

scholarship at UCLA. 

We did things differently at our school. Scotty Deeds, the coach of the men’s tennis team and Dr. Joan Johnson, the coach of the women’s team felt our tennis program would be stronger if the men and the women practiced together. 

Even though I was arguably the best tennis player at Cal State LA and had already won a Wimbledon title, I was not receiving any athletic scholarship funds. I 

did have two jobs on campus—one of which was handing out gym equipment in the 

locker room—and I will tell you I thought I was living large. 

But I knew things just were not right. Things were not equal. 

Thanks to the heroic and committed efforts of Senator Birch Bayh, Senator Ted 

Stevens, Congresswoman Edith Green, Congresswoman Patsy Mink and countless 

others, we righted this wrong when President Richard Nixon signed title IX into law 

on June 23, 1972. 

So often people think title IX is just about sports. The amendment is primarily 

about education and completely about equal rights. But, so often people think the 

amendment is about sports. Why do they think that—because athletes are so visible. 

Just a little more than 1 year after the passage of title IX, I played Bobby Riggs 

in a much heralded match in Houston, TX. This event—which was dubbed the ‘‘Battle of the Sexes’’—was a tennis match only on the outside. In reality, it was much 

more about social change than tennis. 

I wanted the King/Riggs match to change the hearts and minds of people to more 

closely align with the legislation of title IX. I was scared and I was afraid if I did 

not win we would give people a reason to weaken title IX. It was definitely a pressure-packed moment and so many people were counting on me to win. 

Sometimes you have to ‘‘see it to be it.’’ King/Riggs was one of those times. I felt 

I could be an example to show women what we could do if we just had the opportunity to do. 

I learned from the King/Riggs match that title IX is so important that we must 

always keep moving forward and we cannot allow ourselves to go backwards. 

Let’s take a moment to look at the progress we have made in the last 40 years. 

Since the passage of title IX girls’ participation in sports has gone from 1 in 27 

to 2 in 5 at the high school level. 

Tremendous progress has been made and the Women’s Sports Foundation, an organization I founded in 1974, has been the ‘‘Guardian Angel’’ of this legislation. 

Girls and women were underserved at that time and it was important to galvanize resources to address the inequities—to enable them to achieve their potential 

in academics, in athletics, in life. The Women’s Sports Foundation exists to advance 

the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. Today the Women’s Sports Foundation has leveraged its leadership in advocacy to become a recognized research organization, a respected program provider in underserved communities, and a champion for sports and physical activity as a necessary opportunity 

for all girls and women to be healthy, confident, strong, and successful. 
9 

All of us at the Women’s Sports Foundation care so deeply about title IX and the 

protection of the legislation because of the tremendous benefit it brings to education 

and sports, specifically in terms of its impact on the health, emotional and academic 

growth of our young people. 

We also have learned we must remain committed to keeping girls in the game. 

Also in 1974 I co-founded World TeamTennis, a groundbreaking co-ed professional 

tennis league. 

If you have ever seen a WTT match, you have seen my philosophy of life in action. 

We have men and women competing on the same team, on a level playing field with 

equal contributions from both genders. We feel it is important for the players to experience both a leadership and a supporting role. 

More than 25 years of research from the Women’s Sports Foundation shows us 

that by age 14 girls drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys, for many reasons 

including: 

• Lack of access. Girls have 1.3 million fewer opportunities to play high school 

sports than boys have. Lack of physical education in schools and limited opportunities to play sports in both high school and college mean girls have to look elsewhere 

for sports—which may not exist or may cost more money. Often there is an additional lack of access to adequate playing facilities near their homes that makes it 

more difficult for girls to engage in sports. 

• Safety and transportation issues. Sports require a place to participate—and for 

many girls, especially in dense urban environments, that means traveling to facilities through unsafe neighborhoods or lacking any means to get to a good facility 

miles away. And if there isn’t a safe option like carpooling with other families, the 

only option for a girl and her family may be to stay home. 

• Cultural barriers. It’s true that in some homes, girls have responsibilities that 

boys simply don’t have, like taking care of younger siblings or older family members. 

These commitments often take precedence over extracurricular activities including 

sports. And in some cultures, adults may promote or allow boys to participate but 

limit girls’ participation. 

• Decreased quality of experience. As girls grow up, the quality level of their 

sports experience may decline. The facilities are not as good as the boys’ venues and 

the playing times may not be optimal. The availability of quality, trained coaches 

may be lacking in their community or these coaches may be more focused on the 

boys’ programs that have more money for training. Equipment, and even uniforms 

aren’t funded for many girls’ programs at the same levels as boys so their ability 

to grow and enjoy the sport is diminished. In short, sports just aren’t ‘‘fun’’ any 

more. 

• Cost. School sports budgets are being slashed every day, all across the country. 

Fewer opportunities within schools mean families must pay to play in private programs while also footing the bill for expensive coaches, equipment and out-of-pocket 

travel requirements. This additional expense is just not possible for many families. 

• Lack of positive role models. Girls are bombarded with images of external beauty, not those of confident, strong female athletic role models. To some girls, fitting 

within the mold that they are constantly told to stay in is more important than 

standing out. Peer pressure can be hard for girls at any age; when that pressure 

isn’t offset with strong encouragement to participate in sports and healthy physical 

activity, the results may lead girls to drop out altogether (see www.womenssports 

foundation.org for more information). 

It’s pretty simple to me. Girls or boys can’t play if they don’t have an opportunity 

to play. 

I feel it is important we continue those traditions today. We must remain committed to providing access to sporting and athletic activities for all of our children. 

At its very core, title IX is truly about the issues this committee deals with every 

day—Health, Education, Labor and the future of this Nation. 

It’s about health—and getting our children active and committed to reversing the 

obesity trend. 

It’s about education—because children who participate in sports and physical activity in school perform better academically. 

It’s about our workforce—because we know that boys and girls who are active and 

participate in sports develop confidence and leadership skills which will help them 

succeed in life. 

It’s about our future . . . and getting more girls and boys to participate, benefit 

and succeed. 

The health of our Nation is depending on us to do the right thing. 
10 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Ms. King. Thank you for that little 

history lesson. I did not know that. That’s very interesting—1940. 

Ms. KING. Yes. 

The CHAIRMAN. That is pretty impressive. 

Senator MIKULSKI. And thank you for reminding us about Senator Ted Stevens. I think that’s an important note, because our experience has always been that Senator Stevens was a great champion for women. 

Ms. KING. Yes, he was. 

Senator MIKULSKI. It’s often not acknowledged as it should be. 

Thanks for reminding us. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Dr. Hogshead-Makar, please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF NANCY HOGSHEAD-MAKAR, J.D., OLYMPIC 

SWIMMING GOLD MEDALIST, PROFESSOR OF LAW, FLORIDA 

COASTAL SCHOOL OF LAW, JACKSONVILLE, FL 

Ms. HOGSHEAD-MAKAR. Thank you, Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Enzi and Senator Mikulski and distinguished Senators 

here. 

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 expresses the Nation’s collective aspirational belief that girls and boys, men and 

women, deserve equal educational experiences and opportunities. 

Today’s world is almost unrecognizable through the 1972 lens, except for perhaps trailblazers like Billie Jean King. 

I speak with three voices today, one as a female athlete who is 

a direct beneficiary of title IX, also as a lawyer and a professor of 

law and the senior director of advocacy for the Women’s Sports 

Foundation, and also as a parent of both a son and twin daughters. 

To this day, I am so proud of being able to represent my country 

in the 1984 Olympics. And I’m also so proud of earning a full scholarship. And make no mistake—I earned it, getting up at 4:45 in 

the morning from seventh grade until I graduated from high 

school. 

But neither one of those things would have been possible without 

this statute. And if you ever doubt for a second whether or not the 

work that you do impacts people, look at my life and look at the 

lives of millions of girls and women who have been able to not only 

have a sports experience but be able to access education broadly. 

As a lawyer and a professor, I can tell you that right now, title 

IX has been challenged in every way imaginable, through the 

courts, through this legislative body. Title IX actually had to be 

passed twice, both in 1984 and again in 1987 with the Civil Rights 

Restoration Act. The lawsuits and the challenges have gone on, and 

I’m hoping that with this celebration of the 40th anniversary that 

those are going to be over and that we can move on now to figure 

out how to fully implement the law. 

Unlike critics’ claims, title IX is overwhelmingly supported by 

public opinion. I’m aware of three major polls between 2000 and 

2001 that tell a very consistent story. Approximately 80 percent of 

men, women, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, young, old, 

with kids, without kids are all very supportive of title IX. 

A hundred years ago, this country did something unique that the 

rest of the world did not do, which is we linked education with ath-
11 

letics to make better men, to make better citizens. And it turns out 

that the intuitive belief turned out to be true, and we now have a 

lot of academic research. The Women’s Sports Foundation has a 

great publication that combines about 2,500 different independent 

academic and peer-reviewed research studies that looks at what is 

the effect of a sports experience on a girl’s life, from pregnancy to 

academics to osteoporosis to breast cancer to behaviors like cutting 

and binge drinking and you name it. 

And what we know is that a sports experience is one of the most 

important things a girl can have in terms of her lifelong health, her 

educational pursuits, and her economic productivity in the country. 

Sports has now done its job in terms of showing that there is a 

good reason why we spend our tax dollars on athletics. We know 

that athletics alone uniquely benefit kids, both boys and girls, who 

play those sports. 

There are other areas that title IX applies to, it’s not just athletics. Let me touch on two of them. One is pregnancy, and the 

other one is sexual harassment and assault. Title IX applies to 

both of those. They’re both prohibited under title IX. We’ve seen a 

lot of changes in those areas since title IX was passed. 

Sexual harassment, in particular, is a big problem. More than 

half of all girls and 40 percent of boys in grades 7 through 12 report being sexually harassed. Nearly two-thirds of college students 

found some form of sexual harassment, and among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students, or LGBT students, harassment is even more prevalent. Eighty-five percent report being verbally harassed, and 19 percent report being physically attacked. 

I could go on about the different areas that apply to title IX. But 

as a parent, I want to say that I’m disturbed right now at how title 

IX is used to be some technical compliance or blamed for why they 

have to tell the boys no. 

Let me give you an example. My son is 11, and my twin girls are 

5 years old. When they were born, his lifestyle absolutely went 

down, particularly as it related to how much time he could spend 

with us. But he wasn’t being discriminated against. He had to 

share family resources now with a larger pool of people. 

Right now, the number of boys and girls that are knocking at the 

door, saying, ‘‘We want to play. We want more math programs. We 

want more STEM programs’’—the number of kids that are knocking at the door far exceeds schools’ ability to be able to comply. But 

when they tell the boys no, it’s almost always because of title IX 

or because of the girls. I think this is an unethical way that we 

talk about this. 

Also, as a parent, I’m very concerned that girls lag behind men 

in every measurable criteria, whether it’s participation opportunities or recruiting or how they get treated or their facilities and 

locker rooms and their equipment—every way possible. Because 

sports are one of the only sex segregated areas in all of education— 

probably athletics and bathrooms are sex segregated—it doesn’t 

just send a powerful message to those athletes that are in that softball program that isn’t getting the same facilities. It sends a message out there to the math program and to the student body generally and, indeed, to our entire public that can see that in the one 

place that we sex segregate, we treat girls much, much less. It’s 
12 

hypocritical of adults to then go try to tell kids, ‘‘Hey, you should 

respect women,’’ when it’s clear that the school is engaging in formal discrimination in itself. 

Looking forward, at the Women’s Sports Foundation, we are busy 

answering about 40 calls a month. Many are families trying to get 

equitable treatment for their daughters. We have to empower them 

to help schools overcome the stubborn gender inequities without 

litigation. Right now, we know that however you slice up the pie, 

whether or not you’re looking at the resources that the school has, 

the different regions in the country, whether you’re looking at it by 

State, whether it’s by urban, rural, suburban, or town, girls get 

less. 

Girls in Maine have twice the sports experiences that boys in 

Florida do. So how much sports kids want—a lot of it has to do 

with what’s offered, what’s provided there. We have these stubborn—it doesn’t matter how you slice the pie, girls are getting less. 

We at the Foundation are trying to do something about it, but 

without litigation. 

Litigation in athletics cases is not the answer. The case law is 

very clear now. We’ve had tons of litigation, and it’s not economically smart to do. And, instead, we need to have the Department 

of Education, through the Office of Civil Rights, to commit to compliance reviews that are on a region or a State level, rather than 

what is affectionately termed as the whack-a-mole routine, which 

is getting one school at a time. It needs to be a bigger regional 

area. 

The Department of Education has to make information more easily available to high school students so that they know whether or 

not it’s fair to go and ask for more resources. It’s time to pass the 

High School Sports Data Transparency Act. 

And, finally, all students should be protected from sexual harassment and bullying, including our LGBT students. 

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for this opportunity, and I 

look forward to hearing your questions. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Hogshead-Makar follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF NANCY HOGSHEAD-MAKAR, J.D. 

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, thank you for providing me with 

the opportunity to testify today regarding Title IX of the Education Amendments 

of 1972, a landmark civil rights law passed 40 years ago to eliminate sex discrimination in American education. 

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 expresses our Nation’s collective 

aspirational belief that girls and boys, women and men, deserve equality in educational experiences and opportunities. Our country has been shaped by principles 

of equality, tolerance, freedom and the rule of law. By contemporary standards, it 

seems peculiar that equality for males and females in federally supported education 

was ever considered to be a radical idea. Yet here we are, in a world almost unrecognizable through 1972 lens, except for the trailblazers like Billie Jean King. 

Title IX applies to every aspect of federally funded education programs, including 

access to higher education, athletics, career education, pregnant and parenting students, employment, science technology, engineering and math (STEM) classrooms 

and sexual harassment and assault, to name a few. Women now make up more than 

50 percent of college graduates. In 1972, women earned about 7 percent of law degrees. In 2011, women earned about 50 percent of medical and law degrees. 

Other than the constitutional right to vote, possibly no other piece of legislation 

has had a greater effect on women’s lives than title IX. Education has been this 

country’s ticket to improve income potential and social class mobility. When women 
13 

1 NBC—Wall Street Journal, 2000; Mellman Poll, 2007, available at: www.fairplaynow.org/ 

TitleIXpollresults.pdf; New York Times/CBS News Poll: Title IX, 2011. http://www.nytimes. 

com/interactive/2011/04/26/sports/26-poll-titleIX.html. 

were formally excluded or limited in higher education opportunities, it prevented 

them from advancing themselves economically and socially. Title IX is cracking the 

barriers to women’s ability to have equal opportunity to pursue education. 

During my testimony today I speak with three voices: one as a female athlete who 

was a direct beneficiary of title IX; as a lawyer and professor of law in the field, 

and as a parent of a son and twin daughters. 

To this day, I’m most proud of representing my country as part of the 1984 Olympic Team, and of earning a full athletic scholarship to Duke University. If I had 

been a few years older, world records, swimming 4 hours a day, lifting weights and 

running, for 50 weeks a year would not have been enough to earn an athletic scholarship, and my career would have been truncated by 4 years, ending after the 1980 

boycott of the Olympics. 

If you ever question whether your public service in passing a law makes a difference in the individual lives of citizens, look no further than the impact title IX 

has had on my life. 

As a lawyer and professor of law, and as a long-time advocate for women in 

sports, I have been in the trenches defending the law from numerous attacks from 

all three branches of government. Today, 40 years after the passage of title IX, the 

challenges have made the law stronger. The legislature has passed title IX twice, 

in 1972 and again in 1987 with the Civil Rights Restoration Act, affirming the bedrock principles of equality in education. Case law and the administrative regulations 

interpreting the law are uniquely consistent throughout the country. 

Title IX is overwhelmingly supported by public opinion. I’m aware of three major 

polls between 2000 and 20111 that tell a consistent story of the public approval of 

title IX. Approximately 80 percent of men, women, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and people with and without children all support title IX. Unlike the law’s 

critics claim that the law is ‘‘controversial,’’ title IX has stood the test of time and 

is widely embraced. 

In addition, concerns that girls and women’s gains would come at the expense of 

boys and men has not materialized. The slide below demonstrates three major 

points. First, the gap between male and female sports participation rate is enormous. Girls in high school are provided with 1,300,000 fewer sports opportunities 

than boys. Second, at no point in the history of the law do the two lines curve together. In other words, female gains have not come at the expense of males. Instead, 

when girls’ sports are increasing, boys are also gaining. And finally, since 2000, 

while overall sports for boys and girls are growing, the gaps between males and females have actually grown. 
14 

The slide below tells much the same story for NCAA collegiate athletics. There 

are still significant gaps, the lines never curve together, and since 2000 the gaps 

differences between men and women have actually grown. 

To compare high school and college sports participation in a snapshot, see the 

graphs below that highlight the widening pace of male sports growth. 
15 

2 Ellen Staurowsky et al., Women’s Sports Found., Her Life Depends On It II: Sport, Physical 

Activity, and the Health and Well-Being of American Girls and Women 48 (2009). See id. at 

13–15, 28, 32–33, 37.) Available at: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/home/research/ 

articles-and-reports/mental-and-physical-health/her-life-depends-on-it. 

LESSONS FROM TITLE IX IN ATHLETICS

Title IX has given scholars an opportunity to study the effect of athletics on the 

lives of children. The girls following the passage of the law make an ideal research 

group, because of the lack of opportunities followed by significant participation. A 

large body of research confirms what we initiatively knew: that—despite the ‘‘dumb 

jock’’ myth—interscholastic sports participation provides boys and girls from diverse 

socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds measurable positive educational impacts, including higher educational aspirations in their senior year, improved school 

attendance, increased math and science enrollment, more time spent on homework, 

and higher enrollment in honors courses.2 A sports experience provides a positive 

health trajectory for girls, including reducing the risk for obesity, heart disease, 
16 

3 Id. 

breast cancer, osteoporosis, tobacco and drug use, unwanted teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, depression, and suicide.3

Similarly, research by Professor Betsey Stevenson from Wharton found that title 

IX was responsible for one-fifth of the rise of female educational attainment for the 

generation that followed the new policy, as well as a 10 percent increase in women 

working full-time and a 12 percent spike in women in traditionally male-dominated 

occupations, such as accounting, law and veterinary medicine. While her research 

focused on girls, there is no reason to think that these benefits would not be just 

as applicable for boys. In short, sports are an excellent investment in our public tax 

dollars, making both boys and girls healthier and more productive members of society. 

Despite this body of research, schools that are dropping sports altogether are increasing. 

This strong connection between athletics and academic engagement, workforce 

participation, obesity and pregnancy prevention is not trickling down as it should. 
17 

4 34 CFR §106.40(b)(4). Throughout this memo, the term ‘‘pregnancy’’ encompasses ‘‘pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy or recovery therefrom,’’ as set forth 

in the regulations. 5 34 CFR §106.40(b)(5); see also, Deborah L. Brake, The Invisible Pregnant Athlete and the 

Promise of Title IX, 31 HARV. J.L. & GENDER 323 (Summer 2008), available at: http:// 

www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlg/vol312/323-366.pdf. 6The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, (‘‘PDA’’) (P.L. 95–555, 92 Stat. 2076) amended 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employment discrimination, to make it clear 

that discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. The 

PDA was passed to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision in General Electric Company v. Gilbert. 

429 U.S. 125 (1976), which had reached the opposite conclusion. Title IX actually created stronger protections for students than title VII does for employees because of its absolute guarantee 

of a medical leave and reinstatement right to the same status. 34 CFR §106.40(b)(5). 7 Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur, 414 U.S. 632 (1974) (school district policies that 

forced pregnant teachers to leave work early in their pregnancies, regardless of whether or not 

they were able to work, and permitted them to return only 3 months after childbirth, were unconstitutional.) [The title IX regulations are actually stronger than the PDA because of their 

absolute guarantee of a medical leave and right to reinstatement to the same status. 34 CFR 

§106.40(b)(5)]. 

8The Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act, introduced in the House of 

Representatives in July 2011, authorizes the U.S. Secretary of Education to make State and 

local grants to promote education for pregnant and parenting students. Also, the Pregnancy Assistance Fund, a component of the Affordable Care Act, provides $25 million annually for fiscal 

years 2010 through 2019 for the purpose of awarding competitive grants to States and Native 

American tribes or reservations. The law provides for up to 25 grants of $500,000 to $2 million 

a year. See, NCWGE, ‘‘Working to Ensure Gender Equity in Education’’ 2012. Available at: 

http://ncwge.org/. 9See NCWGE, ‘‘Working to Ensure Gender Equity in Education’’ 2012. Available at: http:// 

ncwge.org/. 10Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§1681–88, and 28 CFR 

§54.135(b) (requiring schools to ‘‘adopt and publish’’ policies and procedures ‘‘providing for 

prompt and equitable resolution’’ of student complaints). 

PREGNANCY AND PARENTING STUDENTS

Pregnancy and parenting are significant barriers to education for both males and 

females. The title IX regulations set forth a general ban on pregnancy discrimination, stating that schools must treat pregnancy and all related conditions in the 

same way they treat any other temporary disability.4 In other words, pregnant students are to be treated the same as students with a knee injury or mononucleosis. 

In addition, the regulations provide special protection for pregnant students by requiring an institution to provide them with necessary medical leave, and to reinstate them to the same status as they held when the leave began, even if the school 

does not have a leave policy or if the students do not qualify under its policy.5 In 

this way, title IX’s protections for pregnancy are similar to those barring pregnancy 

discrimination in the workplace.6 While employees have a general expectation that 

they will not be forced to stop working arbitrarily, they will not lose their jobs due 

to pregnancy, and they will be able to return to work when it is medically safe to 

do so.7 Because of title IX, students should have the same expectations regarding 

their educational pursuits. 

Athletics remains an excellent tool for preventing pregnancy. While there are 

some signs of improvement in graduation rates for pregnant and parenting students,8 the problems lie with enforcement and an unsophisticated, vulnerable group 

that may not know of these protections for them. 

SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ASSAULT

Sexual harassment affects student’s ability to succeed academically. More than 

half of girls and 40 percent of boys in grades 7 through 12 reported being sexually 

harassed during the 2010–11 school year. Nearly two-thirds of college students aged 

18–24 experience some form of sexual harassment. The numbers for men and 

women are similar, although women report greater emotional and educational disruption from harassment. Among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students 

(LGBT) harassment is even more prevalent; 85 percent report being verbally harassed and 19 percent report being physically attacked. In addition, being called gay 

or lesbian in a negative way is a common form of harassment in middle and high 

schools.9

Sexual harassment is another form of sex discrimination and is prohibited by title 

IX. Schools must prevent the harassment, remediate it and prevent its recurrence.10

The permissive culture of academics and athletics in particular have not protected 

students from sexual harassment in the way employees are protected from similar 

conduct. The boundaries of workplace harassment has normalized the impermis-
18 

11Deborah Brake and Mariah Burton Nelson, ‘‘NCAA; Staying in Bounds: A Model Policy to 

Prevent Inappropriate Relationships Between Student-Athletes and Athletic Department Personnel’’ (2012); ‘‘Recognizing, Reducing and Responding to Misconduct in Sport: Creating Your 

Strategy’’ USOC, 2012. Available at: http://pressbox.teamusa.org/Article%20Documents/USOCSafe-Sport-Handbook6289729f-d229-47be-a627–1390d20a6ced.pdf. See also, Safe4athletes, an organization dedicated to preventing athlete abuse in all its forms, particularly in club sports. 

www.safe4athletes.org. 12See, NCWGE, ‘‘Working to Ensure Gender Equity in Education’’ 2012. Available at: http:// 

ncwge.org/. 13 Id. 

sibility of quid-pro-quo sexual harassment and hostile environment harassment, but 

many still view sexual and romantic relationships as permissible, so long as both 

parties are above the legal age of consent, and there is no overt coercion. In recognition of this permissible culture, many educational and sporting organizations have 

developed ethical policies that explicitly prohibit romantic and sexual relationships 

between professor and student, coaches and athletes, regardless of the age of the 

victim or whether there is consent.11 In other professional settings, like attorneys 

and clients, physicians and patients, clergy and parishioners that are marked by an 

imbalance in power and a duty of care, the ethical standards governing professors 

and coaches should be designed to safeguard the well-being of persons for whom 

they are responsible, rather than for the benefit of those in power. 

Again, the problem lies in enforcement, and an unsophisticated, vulnerable group 

that may not know of these protections for them. 

Finally, I speak as a parent of three young children and it disturbs me how gender equity is communicated. For example, our son was born 5 years ahead of our 

daughters. When they were born, his standard of living declined, particularly the 

standard of time that we were previously able to devote to him. Rather than being 

discriminated against, he had to share family resources with a larger group. Conversely, it would not be fair or equitable to deny our daughters educational opportunities just because our son was born first. 

I could easily make my son resent his sisters if, when he asked for more than 

our family resources can accommodate, I said, ‘‘you deserve it, but because of the 

law, you cannot have it. Sorry, it isn’t my fault.’’ Yet schools regularly blame the 

law when denying a male group’s request for resources. Title IX is invoked as an 

excuse for an administrator’s decision to allocate resources fairly. 

I am also concerned about the inequitable resources and opportunities for all my 

children. When boys experience more and better funded sports, it’s hypocritical for 

adults to then tell males that they should respect females. Males are being taught 

that they are more important. Because sports are one of the rare areas in education 

that are sex-segregated, how adults value girls’ and women’s sports speaks louder 

than any lesson. When children see flagrant disparities in resources and attention 

between the boys’ and girls’ sports programming, the school sends a visible message 

to everyone, on-campus and off-campus, that formal discrimination is acceptable. 

Just a short while ago, girls heard that professions like science and the law were 

for our boys, yet today women account for 50 percent of medical school students and 

law school students. The stereotype that boys are innately better than girls at math 

and science is also widespread. But recent trends in achievement and scientific studies demonstrate that this notion is simply incorrect. Scientific research has not demonstrated that innate differences exist between boys and girls in terms of mathematical or scientific abilities.12 Spatial reasoning abilities and math performance 

are not biologically ‘‘programmed’’ by gender. In fields like biology, psychology, and 

chemistry, girls now make up close to, or more than, half of those receiving bachelors or postgraduate degrees. However, participation rates of women in technical 

fields, particularly engineering and computer science, are still very low.13 To accept 

the notion that women are less interested in sports or science or technology than 

men would simply maintain existing discrimination and curtail opportunities at artificially limited levels. 

Many vocational degrees still remain divided by gender. For example, programs 

in cosmetology, child care, and health services have large majorities of female students, while programs in fields like auto mechanics and construction remain high 

in male enrollment. Women in the highest-paying sector of women-dominated fields 

make less than men in the lowest-paying sector. 

In athletics, the stereotyped notion that girls are less interested in sports translates into fewer opportunities in every type of school, in wealthier schools and 

schools serving a higher percentage of students receiving federally subsidized 

lunches, as the two tables demonstrate. 
19 

Put another way, interest in athletics, for both boys and girls, is dictated by opportunities that our schools provide to participate in athletics. At the Women’s 

Sports Foundation, we know that kids will participate in sports if they are offered. 

As the chart below demonstrates, high school girls in Iowa and Maine have twice 

as many sports opportunities as boys in Arkansas, Arizona, Utah, Florida and DC. 

It is not that boys in these states are uninterested in sports; it is that they do not 

have the opportunity provided to them. This comports with most people’s experience. Ask just about anyone why they became interested in their career or a hobby, 

and they’ll tell you they were given an opportunity to try it and it stuck with them. 
20 

While fewer than 30,000 women participated in college sports before title IX, 

today that number is almost 200,000—over six times the pre-title IX rate. Girls in 

high school now are participating at a rate of 3.1 million per year—a 1,000 percent 

increase from pre-title IX participation rates. 

Demand for sports participation by both boys and girls far exceed our schools’ resources. There are more than 6 million boys and girls playing high school sports 

today who are vying for fewer than 450,000 college athletic participation slots. With 

3.1 million girls playing high school sports, it is inconceivable that schools cannot 

find women to play on the teams they create. 

Although athletic gains have been sweeping, women continue to lag behind men 

by every measurable criterion, including participation opportunities, scholarships, 

budgets, facilities, and recruiting. As a parent, I am concerned about the overt messages these discrepancies send to both my son and my daughters. 

CONCLUSION

Mr. Chairman, we have many reasons to celebrate this 40th Anniversary of title 

IX. It is enabling girls and women access to education, and is a tool to make the 
21 

educational experience more valuable, by addressing pregnancy and parenting students and sexual harassment and assault. 

While the statute, case law and regulations interpreting title IX may seem 

daunting, they all arise from the simple principle that is relevant to every question 

raised today: whether girls and boys, men and women, are receiving equal educational opportunities. 

As it relates to athletics the NCAA put it this way when it adopted Operating 

Principle 3.1: 

‘‘An athletics program can be considered gender equitable when the participants in both the men’s and the women’s programs would accept as fair and 

equitable the overall program of the other gender.’’ 

It is imperative that we continue to work together around the shared goals embodied in title IX to ensure that our daughters and our sons will have as many educational opportunities, and as meaningful opportunities open to them in the future. 

Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Great. Now we’ll turn to Dr. Jemison. Please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF MAE CAROL JEMISON, M.D., PHYSICIAN AND 

RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT, HOUSTON, TX 

Dr. JEMISON. Chairman Harkin, Senator Enzi, Senator Mikulski, 

I really want to thank you for allowing me to testify today on the 

40th anniversary of title IX. 

As we’ve heard from each person who has spoken before, this 

landmark legislation has really changed our lives here in the 

United States. And what I’m going to do, in addition to really 

thanking some of the people who have continued to make it happen—and, particularly, I just have to thank the American Association of University Women for bringing me here this week and making sure that this stays at the forefront. 

What I want to do is to just jump right into things and talk 

about something that was very important to me. It’s how title IX 

has affected STEM programs, science, technology, engineering, and 

mathematics. And, also, I want to use that in a lens of the space 

program, as well as some of the other things that have happened 

over the past years. 

I was really honored to have the opportunity to be the first 

woman of color in the world to have flown in space aboard the 

space shuttle Endeavor, this mission between the United States 

and Japan. I met with really a strong responsibility to fly on behalf 

of those who came before me, who because of gender or race had 

been denied the opportunity that I now had. I was also aware that 

in many ways, I was making this flight on behalf of others who 

would come after me, others who with hard work and determination would be able to achieve their dreams without the barriers of 

prejudice and misrepresentation. 

I really imagine that Dr. Sally Ride, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, Colonel Eileen Collins, Dr. Ellen Ochoa, who each shattered part of the 

space program barrier—I think they probably felt very much the 

way that I did, because, you see, Sally, Kathy, Eileen, and Ellen 

and I—we all grew up at a time when there were no women in the 

American space program. 

Even as a child, I was aware of this lack of inclusiveness. In the 

1960s, on the south side of Chicago, I remember being so excited 

about space exploration. But there was always just one type of person in Earth orbit or in Mission Control, and they didn’t look like 
22 

me. And even though as a country, we would proudly rally and root 

for the space program, so many of us felt left out. 

When I finally did fly in space, the first thing I saw on Earth— 

no kidding—the first thing I saw on Earth from orbit was Chicago—no kidding, because I had been working on the mid-deck, I 

was called up, and there it was. And it was such a magnificent moment. It was such a significant moment, because looking out the 

window of the shuttle, I thought about that little girl who grew up 

on the south side of Chicago, and I knew that she would have had 

a great big grin on her face. In this Nation right now, we accept 

women in space as routine. But that was not the way before title 

IX. 

I want to give you a short story about space exploration. In 1959, 

Brigadier General Donald Flickinger and Randy Lovelace decided 

that they wanted to test women for the astronaut program, because 

they said, actually, women have some engineering advantages, and 

I can talk about that later. 

But, basically, what they did—when they started testing these 

women, they had women pilots who had more flight time than a 

lot of the male astronauts, and they did incredibly on these tests, 

the exact same tests men had. The women—68 percent of them 

passed with no medical reservations, compared to 56 percent of the 

men. And they were considered that they should be there. But in 

1962, just even the testing of them stopped. 

When I’m talking today, this is not meant to be a story that’s 

construed about who is better, men or women. It’s really a story 

about how different the American space program would have been 

if title IX had been in effect in the 1950s. Indeed, it’s a story about 

how different the course of American science, technology, engineering, medicine, environmental science, art, literature, sports—I 

could go on and on—how different they would have been if title IX 

had been in place. 

When we look at what’s going on, I want to talk about the impact 

of title IX, because the impact is when we had a sanctioned lack 

of educational opportunities, it permeated everything. We would 

see that girls didn’t have expectations that they would do better. 

They thought of themselves as only being able to be full-time 

wives, mothers, nurses, secretaries, and teachers. We never had 

people say men should be full-time fathers and husbands, but 

that’s another question. 

What we have to do is we have to understand that title IX 

changed expectations that women had of themselves. Last year, 

just a few months ago, Bayer Corporation released a study called 

the Bayer Facts of Science 15. It was a survey of chairs of science, 

technology, engineering, and mathematics departments at the Nation’s top 200 universities. 

What we saw from that was very surprising. What I take away 

from that is a story that says that a failure of university departments to understand their role in making sure that women succeed 

is important. By the chairs’ own account, women students arrive at 

college the best prepared academically to succeed in STEM fields, 

yet they graduate in much fewer numbers, and people throw this 

away. 
23 

Other studies have shown that, for example, people assume that 

women and boys are just different in terms of their capacity to do 

science and mathematics. But study after study shows that that’s 

just not the truth. When we look at it scientifically, we find that 

if girls are given drafting classes, it makes a difference. 

I also want to point out that some of the things that I’ve seen 

in these studies reflect my personal experiences. I was the first and 

only girl in my high school to take drafting classes. And the drafting teacher came and asked my homeroom study teacher was this 

a joke, was she really serious? But it was important for engineering 

and mathematics and going into engineering in school. 

While in high school, I also had an opportunity to participate in 

something called the Junior Engineering Technical Society Program at the University of Illinois. This was a program that exposed 

urban students to engineering, and it gave you an opportunity to 

think that, yes, I can participate in this. 

And yet when I went to Stanford at 16 years of age, it was really 

lucky that I went that young, because I had the arrogance of, you 

know, a kid going off to college in California at 16. And that arrogance took me through, because many times, some of my professors 

didn’t seem to want me there. Now, I must acknowledge that for 

the record I value my Stanford experience. I consider it the best engineering and science university I could have attended, and I’m 

happy and proud to say that I’m a Stanford alum. Yet I regret to 

say that I may have earned that engineering degree in spite of, not 

because of my professors. 

I have given a lot more information in my written statement, and 

I’d love to answer more questions. But I want to tell you that I still 

look back at that inclusiveness. I still know that it’s important, 

from the International Science Camp that I created with girls who 

always apply in higher numbers than boys, because they think, 

‘‘Oh, well, it’s Dr. J’s camp, so I can participate,’’ to my new project 

which is called 100-Year Starship. That’s an initiative sponsored by 

DARPA that’s looking at how do we make sure that humans have 

the capability in the next 100 years to go to another star system. 

Fundamental to that, to me, was including women in the program—inclusiveness. That is fundamental and is a part of the program. 

Finally, I just want to introduce someone who is actually sitting 

behind me. It’s Dr. Ronke Olabisi, who is going to be a biomedical 

engineering professor at Rutgers University. It’s one of those things 

where she benefited from title IX in terms of athletics—wave, 

Ronke—they introduced in terms of title IX. But it’s important that 

you look back and you look forward, making sure that people are 

around. 

I wear a bracelet all the time. It says ‘‘Reality Leads Fantasy.’’ 

The reality that we create for our children today will determine the 

fantasies that they hold for tomorrow. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Jemison follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MAE C. JEMISON, M.D. 

Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Enzi and members of the committee, thank 

you for inviting me to testify at this hearing on the 40th anniversary of title IX. 

This landmark civil rights law has opened doors for women and girls on and off the 
24 

field, and continues to be the source of new educational opportunities. There are so 

many who have taken the spirit of this law to heart, including many Members of 

Congress such as yourselves who have championed the law over the years. I would 

also like to thank the advocacy organizations for their important efforts to educate 

the public about title IX, and to work with Congress and the Administration to ensure its fair application. I’d like to extend a special thanks to the American Association of University Women for bringing me here this week, not only for this important hearing, but also for other activities celebrating the impact of title IX at 40. 

While title IX is most associated with increasing opportunities in athletics, I want 

to focus on the aspect of the law that is nearest to my heart. I grew up loving 

science and always knew that I would go into space someday, despite the barriers 

I faced as an African-American woman. My parents made sure I had the educational 

opportunities I would need to excel in academics, even moving to Chicago when I 

was very young, so that I could enroll in quality schools. 

I am honored to have had the opportunity to be the first woman of color in the 

world to have flown into space. I flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor on STS– 

47, an 8-day Spacelab cooperative mission between the United States and Japan. 

I felt a strong, special responsibility to fly this mission on behalf of those who had 

come before me and who, because of gender or race, had been denied the opportunity I now had. And I was also aware that in many ways I was making this flight 

on behalf of others who would come after me . . . Others who, with hard work and 

determination, would be able to achieve their dreams without the barriers of prejudice and misperception. 

I imagine Dr. Sally Ride felt a little like I did when, in 1983, she became the first 

American woman in space . . . And Dr. Kathryn Sullivan when, in 1984, she became the first American woman to walk in space. 

And I like to think so did Colonel Eileen Collins when she shattered barriers 

twice in her Space Shuttle career . . . once as the first woman pilot in the world 

to pilot a spacecraft in 1995 and again in 1999 as the first woman in the world to 

command a Space Shuttle mission. 

You see, Sally, Kathy, Eileen, and I all grew up at a time when there were no 

women in the Astronaut Program. There were also no African-Americans or AsianAmericans. 

Even as a child, I was aware of this lack of inclusiveness. 

When I was growing up in the 1960s on the south side of Chicago, I remember 

being so excited about space exploration! I wanted to be involved! 

But, there was always just one type of person in earth orbit or in Mission Control. 

And they did not look like me. Even though, as a country, we would proudly rally 

and root for the Space Program, so many of us felt as though we were left out. 

When I did finally fly in space, the first thing I saw from earth orbit was Chicago, 

my hometown. I was working on the mid deck where there aren’t many windows, 

and as we passed over Chicago, the commander called me up to the flight deck. It 

was such a significant moment, because ever since I was a little girl I had always 

assumed I would go into space. Looking out the window of that Space Shuttle, I 

thought if that little girl growing up in Chicago could see her older self now, she 

would have a huge grin on her face. 

Today, although women still represent a minority of the Astronaut Program, our 

Space Program is more inclusive. And, as a nation, we accept women in space as 

a routine occurrence. 

It was not that way before title IX. 

A SHORT STORY OF SPACE EXPLORATION

Please allow me to recall for you this morning what is perhaps a forgotten chapter 

in the history of American Space Exploration . . . a chapter that might have been 

written quite differently had title IX come into effect far earlier than it did. 

The story goes something like this . . . 

In 1959, an Air Force Brigadier General by the name of Donald Flickinger and 

a forward-thinking Harvard medical school graduate by the name of Dr. Randolph 

‘‘Randy’’ Lovelace II began contemplating an Astronaut Program that included 

women. Their reasoning was scientifically practical on a number of fronts. 

From an engineering perspective, it made more sense to send a woman into space. 

Women have lower body weight and less oxygen requirements than men. Since 

there were concerns about how microgravity would affect the cardiovascular system, 

women were known to have fewer heart attacks than men. Also, it was believed that 

a woman’s reproductive system was less susceptible to radiation than that of a 
25 

1Kathy L. Ryan, Donald E. Loeppsky, and Donald E. Kilgore, Jr. ‘‘A Forgotten Moment in 

Physiology: The Lovelace Woman in Space Program (1960–1962),’’ Advances in Physiology Education (September 2009), pp. 157, 159. 2 ‘‘Mercury 13,’’ Wikipedia, p. 1. 3 Ryan, et al., op.cit. pp. 157, 160. 4 Ibid., p. 161. 

5 Brandon, Keim, ‘‘Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: NASA’s Lost Female Astronauts,’’ Wired News (October 6, 2009), p. 1. 6 Ryan, et al., op.cit., p. 160. 7 ‘‘Meet the Women of Mercury 13,’’ CBS NEWS Video (July 15, 2009). According to Jerrie 

Cobb of the Mercury 13: 

‘‘I finally got to talk with Vice President Johnson and he said, ‘Jerrie, if we let you or other 

women into the space program, we have to let blacks in, we’d have to let Mexican-Ameri 

cans in, we have to let every minority in and we just can’t do it.’ ’’ 

male; and preliminary data suggested that women could outperform men in enduring cramped spaces and withstanding prolonged isolation.1

An independent researcher, Dr. Lovelace had developed the tests for NASA’s male 

astronaut selection. He now decided to pursue the ‘‘Women in Space Program 

(WISP).’’ 

Dr. Lovelace began medical and physiological testing of 19 accomplished women 

pilots in 1960. Over 700 women pilots had applied, but no candidates with fewer 

than 1,000 hours of flight experience were selected.2 Many of the women selected 

for testing had more flying time experience than their male counterparts because 

several of them had been employed as flight instructors. The women were subjected 

to the same tests as were the original Mercury astronauts, with the addition of gynecological examinations.3

Of the 19 women who underwent these rigorous physical and physiological tests, 

13 (or 68 percent) of the women passed with ‘‘no medical reservations.’’ In comparison, of the men who underwent the testing, 18 of the 32 men (or 56 percent) passed 

the testing.4

According to Donald Kilgore, a doctor who evaluated both men and women for 

space flight, ‘‘They were all extraordinary women and outstanding pilots and great 

candidates for what was proposed. They came out better than the men in many categories.’’ 5

On August 19, 1960, Dr. Lovelace announced at the Space and Naval Medicine 

Congress in Stockholm, Sweden, ‘‘We are already in a position to say that certain 

qualities of the female space pilot are preferable to those of her male colleague.’’ He 

added, ‘‘There is no question but that women will eventually participate in space 

flight; therefore, we must have data on them comparable to what we have obtained 

on men.’’ 6

However, despite the promising results, further testing was suddenly stopped. The 

Women in Space Program terminated in 1962.7

This is not meant to be, nor should it be construed to be, a story about, ‘‘Who 

is better, men or women?’’ 

This story is really a story about how different the history of the American Space 

Program might have been had title IX been in effect in the late 1950s. 

Indeed, one might argue that this is really a story about how different the course 

of American science, technology, engineering, medicine, environmental science, art, 

literature, sports . . . I could go on and on . . . would have been if title IX had 

been in effect long before it was finally passed. 

No, there was no title IX in 1959 or in 1962. 

Interestingly, in July 1962, Republican representative Victor Anfuso from New 

York convened public hearings before a special Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Aeronautics to investigate the possibility of gender discrimination in astronaut selection. 

These hearings were a testament to how discussions about women’s rights were 

more strongly emerging on the political landscape 2 years before the Civil Rights 

Act of 1964. Yet, it was a long 10 years later before title IX declared: 

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from 

participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination 

under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. 

And it is important to point out that title IX offers no special advantages or benefits for women and girls. Because it is gender-neutral, title IX actually benefits men 

and boys who also want equal access to all education and career options. 

As a matter of fact, as a medical doctor, I can tell you that since title IX, men 

have made significant gains within healthcare in several areas that have been historically dominated by women. 
26 

8 ‘‘Learning Environment,’’ Title IX Info, The Margaret Fund of the National Women’s Law 

Center. (Washington, DC: 2012). 9 ‘‘STEM Education, Science Literacy and the Innovation Workforce in America: Analysis and 

Insights from the Bayer Facts of Science Education Surveys 1995–2011,’’ Bayer’s STEM Diversity And Higher Education Forum (Washington, DC: April 18, 2012). 10 Ibid. 

What title IX specifically did for the Space Program is help create an environment 

in which incredibly talented, intelligent, dedicated, courageous, qualified, and success-oriented women like the Mercury 13 could no longer be arbitrarily excluded 

from career positions within our country’s Space Program simply because they happened to be a group of people who happened to be women. 

In the 1970s, when once again the subject of women in the Space Program came 

up, had it been up to NASA management at the time, women might not necessarily 

have been given the opportunity to compete in the Astronaut Selection process. 

Title IX made the difference! 

In 1977, NASA did announce that it was looking for qualified scientists, technicians, and pilots to compete for positions within the Astronaut Corps. 

• 8,000 people responded. • 1,000 were women. • 35 Astronaut Candidates were chosen. • 6 of them were women. 

In what perhaps was regarded as the most demanding career in science, engineering, and technology, women would now be given the opportunity to fly in space. 

That opportunity did not exist before title IX. 

Indeed, the world before title IX was dramatically different from the world after 

title IX. 

THE IMPACT OF TITLE IX

Before title IX, because of the sanctioned lack of educational opportunity combined 

with the gender stereotypes that permeated classrooms and textbooks, most girls 

could only see themselves as women who were full-time wives and mothers, secretaries, nurses, or teachers—portrayals that restricted the career choices.8

With title IX, though gender stereotypes continued to exist, broader arrays of opportunities were made available. Girls were now able to think of themselves in future careers not only as full-time wives and mothers, nurses, secretaries, teachers 

but also as full-time scientists, doctors, engineers, and lawyers. (One might ask 

when we last saw terms like ‘‘full-time husbands and fathers?’’) 

Title IX has changed the expectations women and girls have for themselves . . . 

the expectations and possibilities fathers now have for their daughters. 

Unfortunately, today title IX is still needed. 

It is instructive to note that when children in the United States are asked to draw 

a picture of a scientist, overwhelmingly most draw a man in a white coat. Few draw 

a picture of a woman. 

Just a few months ago, the Bayer Corporation released the study the ‘‘Bayer Facts 

of Science Education XV,’’ a survey of chairs of the science, technology, engineering, 

and mathematics (STEM) departments of our Nation’s 200 top research universities.9

As an astronaut, medical doctor, chemical engineer, and Ivy League college professor, I believe the crucial story that emerges from this survey is the failure of universities, STEM departments and professors to recognize and understand the role 

they play in undermining or promoting women and underrepresented minority students’ success in seeking and completing STEM degrees. 

By department chairs’ own account, women students arrive at college the best 

prepared academically of all students for STEM degree success, but graduate with 

STEM degrees at lower rates than their male counterparts.10 And while half the 

chairs considered underrepresented minorities less well prepared, these chairs acknowledged that even minority students well-prepared academically for STEM success graduated at lower rates. 

So clearly, there is something about the interaction and engagement of women 

and underrepresented minority students in college that affects these students adversely—whether it is courses that disproportionately ‘‘weed out’’ students, few 

women professors, or discouraging those who are not the stereotype of a successful 

STEM student. 

A prior study, Bayer Facts of Science XIV, surveyed women and minority members of the American Chemical Society. These were professionals who had successfully completed degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering. Yet, more than 40 
27 

11 ‘‘Female and Minority Chemists and Chemical Engineers Speak about Diversity and Underrepresentation in STEM,’’ Bayer Facts of Science XIV (March 2010). 12Title IX at 40, American Association of University Women, The National Coalition for 

Women and Girls in Education, (2012), p. 18. 13 Ibid. 14S.J. Spencer, et al. ‘‘Stereotype Threat and Women’s Math Performance,’’ Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35 (1), 1999. 15Title IX at 40, op.cit., p. 19. 

percent of these STEM graduates stated that they were actively discouraged from 

pursuing STEM fields in college by a college professor, the most commonly cited instances of active discouragement. Conversely, these individuals also noted that internships, mentoring and hands-on experiences in science throughout K–12 and college where positive influences in their choice of a STEM career.11

College STEM departments are critical choke points in education—that point 

early in students’ lives where they make important decisions about their careers. 

Interestingly, my own personal academic experiences echo these studies. 

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

In my high school, I was the first and only girl to take drafting classes. But when 

the drafting instructor, Mr. Okelpec saw my name on the roster, he asked my homeroom teacher Mrs. Roberts if this was a joke. Yet no such question was posed when 

my brother signed up for the class. 

Mrs. Roberts explained that I intended to pursue science and engineering and, to 

his credit, Mr. Okelpec made sure that I did all the kinds of machine drawings, 

blueprints, and designs that an engineer would expect to encounter. 

While in high school, I also took advantage of a 2-week program sponsored by the 

Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana 

that exposed urban students to engineering. It was on that campus when I really 

learned about engineering and made the decision to pursue engineering in college. 

I was 16 when I entered Stanford University and I was full of all of the arrogance 

that a 16-year-old who left Chicago to go to California on her own might have. That 

extra dose of confidence proved critical, however, because it got me through STEM 

courses in which some of the professors did not seem to want me. Professors outside 

the sciences seemed far more welcoming to me and this enabled me to emotionally 

re-charge and surmount the challenges posed by the poor reception I received from 

my professors in STEM courses—hurdles the male students did not encounter. For 

the record, I value my Stanford experience and consider it the best engineering and 

science research university I could have attended and I am happy to have attended. 

I am a proud Stanford alumni. Yet, I regret to say, that I may have earned that 

engineering degree in spite of, rather than because of, some of my professors. 

Fortunately, while I went to Stanford, I had a scholarship from Bell Laboratories 

that provided me intense research environments in science and engineering, as well 

as a host of supervisors—engineers, computer programmers, and scientists—who 

clearly expected me to do well. 

THE FACTS OF WOMEN AND STEM

Although debunked by scientific research, stereotypes about male and female 

abilities in STEM persist and are seriously sabotaging women’s success. 

Implicit gender biases can have a major influence on a girl’s or woman’s decision 

to remain in a STEM field. Gender biases may directly or indirectly determine 

whether a woman is hired. Gender biases may also directly or indirectly impede the 

promotion rate and career advancement of female employees.12

Early on, such biases may prevent a female student from even considering an academic pursuit or career in STEM. These biases have also been shown to influence 

whether parents and faculty encourage a female student to pursue a career in 

science or engineering, or any of the other STEM disciplines.13 What seems obvious 

has also been scientifically proven over and over again. These biases negatively affect a female student’s academic performance in a STEM course. 

For example, in one landmark study, girls who were made to feel inadequate performed significantly worse than their male counterparts on a challenging math test. 

However, girls in the control group who had not been influenced by a negative 

stereotype threat condition scored similarly to their male counterparts.14

Some 300 additional studies supporting this finding have been published since 

this precedent-setting 1999 study.15 One such study (Kane and Mertz) was just published in January of this year and it further confirmed that the cultural influence 
28 

16 Jonathan M. Kane and Janet E. Mertz, ‘‘Debunking Myths and Gender and Mathematics 

Performances,’’ Notices of the AMS (January 2012). 17Title IX at 40, op.cit., p. 18. 18 Ibid. 19Kane and Mertz. 20 Catherine Pieronek, ‘‘The State of Women in Engineering,’’ Presentation given at the University of Notre Dame (October 12, 2011). 21Title IX at 40, op.cit., p. 18. 

of gender stereotypes and biases against women in STEM disciplines is related to 

gender differences in performance.16

Scientific research has not demonstrated what the stereotypes would have us believe—that there are innate differences between boys and girls when it comes to 

mathematical or scientific abilities. Study after study has shown that spatial reasoning abilities are not pre--ordained by gender. Instead, exercise of these abilities 

is influenced by social context and the degree of gender equality in a society.17

This investigation further demonstrated a strong link between the implicit gender-science stereotype of a country and the subsequent gender difference in test performance.19 The study evidences that differences between male and female students’ 

performance in math and science are caused by cultural, rather than innate or biological factors.18

By focusing on the varying percentages of participation by women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in different countries, the study effectively 

documents the impact of culture on performance.19 For example, 40 percent of the 

students at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez’s engineering programs are 

women.20 In Romania, 44 percent of researchers in engineering and technology are 

women. Yet, in the United States, only 11 percent of engineers are women.21

THE 3 E’S

The critical importance of culture and learning environments on student abilities, 

interests, and performance must not be overlooked, ignored, or underestimated. The 

factors that I see as key to women and girls and minorities succeeding in STEM 

fields are, in fact, supported by the core values of title IX. 

I call those factors ‘‘the 3 E’s—Exposure, Expectation, and Experience.’’ 

For students, ‘‘Exposure’’ means knowing what careers in the STEM fields entail, 

and interacting with individuals in these various disciplines to develop a level of 

comfort with the fields. 

‘‘Expectation’’ means seeing oneself as a potential member of the discipline, recognizing that one has the right to participate in STEM courses, and that one should 

have expectations of success and contributions. 

Students who gain ‘‘Experience’’ in the STEM fields will have the opportunity to 

compete with their talented counterparts and build the confidence necessary to meet 

challenges effectively. 

When President Maria Klawe, Ph.D. arrived 6 years ago at Harvey Mudd College 

in southern California, 33 percent of the student body was female, but only 10 of 

the computer science majors were female. She took several deliberate steps to address this problem, including making small changes to the curriculum to require 

more introductory classes and ease the practice of ‘‘weed out’’ classes. Today, 42 percent of the student body is female, and 40 percent of computer science majors are 

women. 

Girls who grow up in an environment that cultivates their success in science and 

math will be more likely to develop skills and confidence, and to consider a future 

in STEM. 

That is why the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence engages girls and 

boys in science through programs like our 4-week residential summer camps specifically designed for middle school and secondary school students, ages 12–16. These 

camps successfully increase our students’ science literacy, their problem-solving 

skills, their knowledge of the impact of science and technology on society, and their 

understanding of societal and environmental impact on science endeavors. Their 

learning occurs in an encouraging and exciting atmosphere where they are supported, while being challenged to reach their greatest potential. Interestingly, our 

The Earth We ShareTM international science camp receives far more applications 

from girls than boys! 

Women make up over 50 percent of our population. Failure to seek, nurture, and 

develop their talent is a failure to capitalize on a great national resource. Notably, 

the attrition rate of women and girls from academics and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics does not benefit their male counterparts. 
29 

Rather, the loss of talent and contribution by a significant segment of our population seriously endangers our Nation’s economic competitiveness at a time when 

our Nation needs to take advantage of our country’s intellectual resources and full 

capacity for innovation. 

In a global marketplace increasingly driven by technology, promoting the talents 

and contributions of women and minorities is an essential strategy to maintain our 

Nation’s scientific vitality, economic prosperity, and national security. 

To be at the forefront of technology at the international level, the United States 

must continue to produce technological and scientific talent capable of meeting the 

challenges of tomorrow regardless of the gender or race of that talent—talent that 

resides as much in our female and minority population as it does in the more traditionally recognized STEM populations. 

And title IX has had an impact that goes beyond numbers, because it is also about 

the perspectives that women bring to an issue. 

For example, when I was in medical school, breast cancer was treated by mastectomy. Not only was the procedure disfiguring, but it was also based on the paradigm 

that an invasive surgery with significant unpleasant sequela was the primary and 

best we could offer. It was not until women physicians, in significant numbers, insisted there might be other medical alternatives and investigated other options. 

Now, there are treatment options like lumpectomy, localized radiation, anti-hormonal therapy that lead to better success. 

Accompanying me today is Dr. Ronke Olabisi, a biomedical engineer who is leading breakthrough research in growing new bone precisely where and when it is 

needed. Dr. Olabisi is a young woman whose scientific and athletic opportunities in 

college were positively impacted by title IX. 

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of culture, and a positive and encouraging learning environment to students’ excelling. 

I never forgot those childhood feelings and experiences. The lessons I learned 

about the need for inclusiveness stayed with me through my life, and even today, 

remain enduring principles that influence my beliefs, my attitudes, my behavior, 

and my ideals. 

For example, recently the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence won a grant 

by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to assist in the creation of what DARPA described as ‘‘persistent, long-term, private sector investment’’ 

to develop the technology and capabilities for long-distance space travel. 

Called the 100 Year Starship (100YSS), the program is an exciting leadership initiative which emphasizes the importance of ‘‘inclusion’’ specifically as a primary 

means toward the achievement of such an audacious goal. The success of the 100 

Year Starship Program requires we take advantage of the full wealth of talent, insight, experience and expertise our country has to offer. Just as 100YSS works 

across disciplines, it is very important to me that the Program also makes space 

travel more accessible to the public, both as beneficiaries and as participants. The 

Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence is very excited about the 100 Year Starship Program and, through the 100 Year Starship Program, the ideals of title IX 

will be represented. 

Title IX has significantly closed the gap between male and female performance 

in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. But cultural biases and persistent stereotypes continue to impede the advancement of girls, women, and minorities in these fields. 

The female and minority attrition rate in STEM at every level of education is still 

unacceptably high, and these attrition rates occur at a dangerous cost to United 

States competitiveness in the global marketplace. 

Knute Rockne, one of college football’s greatest coaches, once said, ‘‘Your success 

in the future depends on the present. Build well.’’ 

Our country is rich with resources of talent, intelligence, and determination. 

Americans have great capabilities motivated toward success and a selfless passion 

for personal contribution. 

But America’s success in the future depends on the present. As a nation, we must 

build well. 

We need more scientists, technologists, computer specialists, mathematicians, engineers—bright, well-educated, and highly motivated. 

And if title IX achieves its full potential, we will one day be a nation not of female 

engineers or black scientists, but a nation of very talented engineers, scientists, and 

physicists who happen to be women or black or white or male, but who are respected for our talents and capabilities . . . and our commitment to our country’s 

successful future. 

Title IX was designed to be a strong and comprehensive measure that would attack all forms of sex discrimination in education and, in so doing, provide edu-
30 

cational opportunities formerly closed to women and girls. While title IX has indeed 

succeeded in opening doors in the classroom and on the athletic field, inequities and 

barriers still remain. Through good enforcement and heightened public attention to 

these issues, even more progress can be made—the future is bright. 

As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of title IX, the message we send to young 

girls is one that encourages their interest in STEM and provides opportunities for 

them to fully develop and explore their interest. We must help young scientists become the astronauts and professional scientists, mathematicians and engineers of 

the future. They deserve the chance. And our Nation needs them. 

Thank you very much. I look forward to your questions. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ackmann M. The Mercury 13: The True Story of 13 Women and the Dream of Space 

Flight. New York: Random House, 2003. 

Freni, P. Space for Women: A History of Women with the Right Stuff. Santa Ana, 

CA: Seven Locks, 2002. 

‘‘History of Title IX,’’ Title IX Info, The Margaret Fund of the National Women’s 

Law Center. Washington, DC: 2012. 

Kane, Jonathan M. and Janet E. Mertz, ‘‘Debunking Myths about Gender and Mathematics Performance.’’ Notices of the AMS, January 2012. 

Keim, Brandon. ‘‘Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: NASA’s Lost Female Astronauts.’’ Wired 

News. October 6, 2009. 

Maatz, Lisa. (NCWGE Chair, American Association of University Women). Title IX 

at 40. The National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, 2012, pp. 1–26. 

‘‘Meet the Women of Mercury 13.’’ CBS News Video. July 15, 2009. 

Nosek, B.A., et al. ‘‘National Differences in Gender-Science Stereotypes Predict Sex 

Differences in Science and Math Achievement.’’ Preceedings of the National Academy of Science, 106 (26), 1999, pp. 10593–97. 

Pieronek, Catherine. ‘‘The State of Women in Engineering,’’ Presentation Given at 

the University of Notre Dame, October 12, 2011. 

Ryan, Kathy L., Donald E. Loeppsky, and Donald E. Kilgore, Jr. ‘‘A Forgotten Moment in Physiology: The Lovelace Woman in Space Program (1960–1962).’’ Advances in Physiology Education. (September 2009), 157–64. 

Spencer, S.J., et al. ‘‘Stereotype Threat and Women’s Math Performance,’’ Journal 

of Experimental Social Psychology, 35 (1), 1999. 

‘‘STEM Education, Science Literacy and the Innovation Workforce in America: Analysis and Insights from the Bayer Facts of Science Education Surveys 1995–2011.’’ 

Bayer’s STEM Diversity and Higher Education Forum. Washington, DC: April 18, 

2012. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Dr. Jemison. That was excellent. 

And now Admiral Stosz. 

STATEMENT OF REAR ADMIRAL SANDRA L. STOSZ, SUPERINTENDENT OF THE U.S. COAST GUARD ACADEMY, NEW LONDON, CT 

Admiral STOSZ. Good morning, Chairman Harkin, Senator Enzi, 

Senator Mikulski, and distinguished members of the committee. I 

am Rear Admiral Sandra Stosz, Superintendent of the United 

States Coast Guard Academy. It is a pleasure to be here today to 

talk about the triumphs of title IX. 

I must start by thanking the many women who went before me 

on whose shoulders I stand, including the remarkable women to my 

right, the female athletes, and the members of the Coast Guard 

Women’s Reserve and all the women and men who supported similar legislation that offered women like me opportunities never before available. I am continually thankful to have been born at exactly the right time to benefit from title IX and other equal rights 

legislation. 

By the time I entered high school, title IX had been in place for 

2 years, and I participated as an active member of the varsity bas-
31 

ketball and field and track teams. Athletics shaped and focused me 

and gave me the confidence to realize that through perseverance 

and hard work, I could pave my own way to success. Winning the 

State championship in my track and field event was a life changing 

experience for me, and I am confident it is what motivated me to 

set my sights high and helped distinguish me when applying for 

admission to the Coast Guard Academy. 

Receiving a high school education rich in science and math also 

played an important role in preparing me for success in life. My father was a scientist, and as a young girl, I always dreamed of becoming a biologist, zoologist, ornithologist, or anything ending in 

ologist. I took all the science, technology, engineering, and math 

courses available to me in high school and built my confidence as 

a result of induction into the National Honor Society and graduating in the top 5 percent of my high school class. 

In 1976, when I was a rising junior in high school, the U.S. Coast 

Guard Academy led the Federal armed service academies in opening their doors to admit women for the first time. In 1978, I entered the Coast Guard Academy as a member of just the third class 

of women. Although the Academy’s science, technology, engineering, and math majors were all open to women at the time, varsity 

sports had to be started from scratch. 

I graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1982 and now 30 

years later have the distinct honor and privilege of serving as superintendent of my alma mater. Although I benefited greatly from 

title IX, the real success story is evident in the achievements of the 

young women who now comprise one-third of the cadet corps. These 

young women are in STEM degrees and compete in varsity or club 

sports in basically the same proportion as their male counterparts—and that’s about two-thirds of our cadets—either earn one 

of our six STEM majors or compete in varsity or club sports, both 

men and women equally. 

I am very proud of our women’s varsity sports teams. This year, 

our women’s volleyball team won the conference championship, and 

our women’s varsity crew placed seventh in the NCAA Division 3 

national rowing championship, and that was led by All-American 

Ensign Sarah Jane Otey, one of our cadets that just graduated, a 

scholar athlete who has been nominated as the NCAA Woman of 

the Year. 

Finally, our women’s softball team, led by All-American pitcher, 

Hayley Feindel, who has broken almost every record for Division 

3 softball, placed third in the NCAA Division 3 regional tournament. 

When the Coast Guard Academy first admitted women in 1976, 

the decision was made to offer women parity with men in a significant manner beyond academic majors and sports. Women were offered access to every operational specialty available to a man in the 

Coast Guard. This fostered a healthy culture of inclusion and 

equality versus the perception that women are less capable of performing the more demanding roles. 

I am thankful that the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Academy provided me equal access and parity from the very start, as 

opposed to some of the other service academies who were excluded 

by combat exclusion laws and that sort of thing. I am thankful for 
32 

the Coast Guard Academy, that they provided me equal access 

right from the start. Through hard work and perseverance, it was 

a natural progression that a woman like me could rise through the 

ranks to serve as the first female superintendent of a Federal service academy. 

A generation after implementation of title IX and other laws offering women equal opportunity, I am proud to see young women 

and men graduating with confidence and competence from the 

Coast Guard Academy as leaders of character and selfless service 

to their nation. Although title IX benefited me and provided me the 

opportunities necessary for a successful personal and professional 

life, I am most thankful for its lasting impact on successive generations of young women who will some day replace me looking forward. 

I want to close by thanking the committee for offering this 

chance to reflect back on a significant moment in our Nation’s history. Title IX had a huge positive impact. We owe it to those who 

worked so hard to provide us with these priceless opportunities to 

reflect back with thanks for what they did and to look forward with 

conviction to do our part to make this great Nation even better for 

the next generation. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to 

your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Rear Admiral Stosz follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF REAR ADMIRAL SANDRA L. STOSZ

Good morning Chairman Harkin, Senator Enzi, and distinguished members of the 

committee. I am Rear Admiral Sandra Stosz, Superintendent of the U.S. Coast 

Guard Academy. 

Thank you for inviting me to speak about the impact of title IX. I must start by 

thanking the many women who went before me—the female athletes and members 

of the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve—and all the women and men who supported 

seminal legislation that offered women opportunities never before available. These 

opportunities provided equal access to athletic activities and institutions of higher 

education from which girls and women were previously excluded. 

As the eldest of four siblings, I was a tomboy raised with three brothers. My parents never denied me opportunities at home, and as a youth, I participated with my 

brothers in competitive swimming and tennis at a local summer recreation facility. 

By the time I entered high school in 1974, title IX had been in place for 2 years, 

and I took physical education class and participated as an active member of the varsity basketball and track & field teams. 

As a shy teenager, athletics shaped and focused me and gave me the confidence 

to realize that through perseverance and hard work, I could pave my own road to 

success. Winning the State championship in my track and field event was a lifechanging experience for me, and I am confident it is what motivated me to set my 

sights high and helped distinguish my application for admission to the Coast Guard 

Academy. 

Receiving a high school education rich in science and math also played an important role in preparing me for success in life. My father was a scientist, and as a 

young girl I always dreamed of becoming a biologist, zoologist, ornithologist, or anything ending in ‘‘ologist.’’ I took all the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 

courses available in high school. Induction into the National Honor Society and 

graduating in the top 5 percent of my high school class built my confidence in my 

own abilities. 

In 1975, when I was a junior in high school, a second piece of seminal legislation 

was enacted requiring the Federal service academies to open their doors to admit 

women. Living in Ellicott City, MD, I read an article in the ‘‘Baltimore Sun’’ describing the Naval Academy and the wealth of opportunity available to those who could 

persevere through the incredibly demanding nomination and admissions process. 

Straight away I started the application process, eventually achieving a coveted nom-
33 

ination to the U.S. Naval Academy from Senator Paul Sarbanes. At that point my 

application entered the competition for an appointment. 

An observant guidance counselor informed me that there was a Coast Guard 

Academy in New London, CT, that offered virtually the same opportunities, but operated on the direct admission process. I applied to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy 

initially as a backup, but when I was quickly offered an appointment, I sent in my 

deposit, pleased and proud to have been accepted to a high quality institution of 

higher education that valued me entirely on my own merit. 

In 1978, I entered the Coast Guard Academy as a member of just the third class 

of women to be admitted. Women’s sports teams were still being established, and 

there were not enough women to field full teams. Sailing was easy to adopt as a 

coed sport, so that was where I applied myself for most of my 4 years as a cadet. 

Learning seamanship and boat handling as a cadet also prepared me well for my 

career at sea as an officer. I also swam for a season as the first woman ever on 

the men’s swim team, and took pride in having helped pave the way when the Academy eventually stood up a women’s swim team. 

As a result of my interest in science, I initially pursued the Marine Science major 

at the Coast Guard Academy. However, I shifted over to Government as a result 

of broadening interests. Today, the Marine Environmental Science major is one of 

six technical majors offered at the Academy, and it is a huge draw for women. The 

Academy also offers degrees in Management and Government. All degrees conferred 

are Bachelor of Science degrees as a result of our Science, Technology, Engineering, 

and Mathematics (STEM) based core curriculum. Over the past decade, nearly twothirds of our women have graduated with STEM degrees, which is on par with their 

male counterparts. All Ensigns graduate with their degree, along with a commission 

in the U.S. Coast Guard and guaranteed employment in service to their nation. 

I graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1982 and now, 30 years later, have 

the distinct honor and privilege of serving as Superintendent of my alma mater. I 

am very proud of the fact that women, who made up just over 5 percent of the cadet 

corps when I entered in 1978, now comprise one-third of the cadet corps. Although 

I benefited greatly from title IX, the real success story is evident in the achievements of the young women who make up today’s generation. In their lifetimes, these 

young women have always had comparable access and parity with their male counterparts. They are expected and encouraged to participate in sports and to pursue 

STEM majors. 

The Coast Guard Academy offers 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association 

(NCAA) sports—11 for men, 9 for women and 1 (rifle), which is for both men and 

women. We also offer eight chartered club sports including both men’s and women’s 

lacrosse and men’s and women’s rugby. As the percentage of women has increased 

at the Academy, we have likewise increased the number of our women’s varsity 

sports, without adversely impacting our men’s sports. Nearly 80 percent of our cadets are involved in a varsity or club sport. 

This past year, our women’s varsity teams performed better than our men’s 

teams. Our women’s volleyball team won the Conference championship. The women’s varsity crew team recently won the Petite Final, placing seventh in the NCAA 

Division III national rowing championship and led by All-American Ensign Sarah 

Jane Otey, a scholar-athlete who has been nominated as the NCAA Woman of the 

Year. Finally, our women’s softball team, led by All-American pitcher Ensign Hayley 

Feindel, went further than ever before in the post-season, placing third in the 

NCAA Division III regional tournament. 

When the Coast Guard Academy first admitted women in 1976, the decision was 

made to offer women parity with men in a significant manner beyond academic majors and sports: women were offered access to every operational specialty. Aside 

from the obvious opportunity this parity provides women, it also fosters a healthy 

attitude of inclusion among their male counterparts. Excluding women from certain 

operational specialties and roles creates a perception that women are less capable 

of performing the more demanding roles. I am thankful the Coast Guard Academy 

provided me equal access and parity from the start. Through hard work and perseverance, the progression of women through the ranks was natural. As the first female superintendent of a Federal service academy, I am one example of what parity 

has yielded. 

A generation after the implementation of title IX and other laws offering women 

equal opportunity, I am proud to see young women and men graduating with confidence and competence from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy as leaders of character 

in selfless service to their nation. Although title IX benefited me, and provided me 

the opportunities necessary for a successful personal and professional life, I am most 

thankful for its lasting impact on successive generations of young women who will 

someday replace me. 
34 

I want to close by thanking the committee for offering this chance to reflect back 

on a significant moment in our Nation’s history. Title IX had a huge, positive impact. We owe it to those who worked so hard to provide us with these priceless opportunities to reflect back with thanks for what they did and to look forward with 

conviction to do our part to make this great Nation even better for the next generation. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to your questions. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Senator Harkin, excuse me—— 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Admiral. 

Senator Mikulski. 

Senator MIKULSKI. I have to leave to go to another hearing. I’d 

like to thank you for convening this. 

The CHAIRMAN. If you have some questions, go ahead. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Well, what I just wanted to say was, first of 

all, thank you for convening this. And rather than a self-congratulatory retro look at what’s been accomplished, I think the panel has 

laid out very interesting data, statistics, recommendations on 

where we are, both the experience of girls in our society, but also 

for the boys as well, and I think particularly in the area of STEM 

education, where there’s such a crying need for talent in our country. 

You heard Dr. Jemison talk about the work of one of our professors, who improved graduation rates in not only STEM, generally, 

but also in computer science, where we’re running a workforce 

shortage. So I think there’s a lot here to not only be retro, but to 

look ahead particularly at what this means. I want to comment on 

Admiral Stosz. She’s a Marylander. 

And, if I could, I’d like to direct questions to you. I’m on the 

Board of Visitors at the Naval Academy, and now that women are 

being admitted, the question is graduation rates. One of the things 

that we’ve heard from other service academies, Admiral—and I 

wonder if you have experienced or observed this in your career— 

is that one of the predictive rates of success is if a girl had high 

school athletic experience, and that high school athletic experience, 

even if it was intramural, when she came to the academy she was, 

first of all, physically fit for the rigors of a military academy, but 

also had this attitude of competition; get out there, play, don’t be 

afraid of losing the ball—all the attitudes exhibited in sports, because in sports, even if you make a mistake, you go ahead. 

So I wonder, at the Coast Guard Academy, have you seen the 

correlation between graduation rates and athletic participation in 

high school? 

Admiral STOSZ. Thank you for the question, Senator. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Does it go to what happened to them in high 

school, not only their SAT scores, but what they did in field hockey, 

which is what I played. 

Admiral STOSZ. Thank you for the question, Senator. We have 

not done an analysis on the high school background of our young 

women cadets. But that’s an intriguing question. Our women do 

graduate at about the same percentage that their male counterparts do from the Coast Guard Academy. I can get you those exact 

numbers. 

I’m intrigued by the analysis. Most of our young cadets coming 

into the Coast Guard Academy have a strong background in ath-
35 

letics. Eighty percent of our cadets—about 80 percent—participate 

in either varsity sports or club sports at the Coast Guard Academy. 

But, ma’am, we’ll get back to you on the exact graduation rates, 

and we’ll take a look at the research behind the varsity sports in 

high school as a predictor for success at the academy. We have not 

done that. 

Ms. HOGSHEAD-MAKAR. Can I add something? Senator Mikulski, 

there’s some great research by an economist at Wharton, Betsey 

Stevenson. What she looked at was the generation just before and 

just after title IX. The rates of participation just flew up right 

away, and I provided in my formal testimony those graphs. 

She was able to look at the different States that provide different 

amounts of sports, and by sort of teasing out these numbers, she 

was able to show that sports is not just associated with more education. You said 80 percent. That’s really high. It’s not just associated with it. It actually causes more education and causes girls, in 

particular, to go into non-traditional careers, things like STEM, 

going to law school or medical school, and not only that, but being 

employed and working full-time. 

We have all the data and the scholarship necessary for us to say 

that sports are a very good investment in our public dollars, for 

what it means for our country to be competitive, as you said, for 

the rest of their lives and healthy for the rest of their lives. Sports 

participation is the No. 1 prevention of obesity. It’s the No. 1 thing 

that you can do as a youth that will prevent obesity for the rest 

of somebody’s life. 

And yet we have more schools who are not providing sports at 

all. It went in the last 10 years from 8 percent of all schools not 

providing sports now to 15, and we still have these huge gaps. I 

mean, think about being admissible into the Coast Guard or into 

Stanford University here if sports participation is associated with 

these things, and we’re giving girls 1.3 million fewer of these opportunities in high school. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Well, thank you. I know my time is up, and 

I know we’ll continue the conversation through the other questions. 

Thank you all for what you’ve done, and thank you for the challenge about what we need to do. 

Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Mikulski. Again, 

I want to thank the entire panel. 

I think I’ll just start a round of 5-minute questions here. I think 

one of the important things that was stated here this morning and 

that should be repeated often is that because women gained under 

title IX, men didn’t lose. It’s often been presented that way, and 

that’s what a lot of the court cases have been about. But if you look 

at the data, for example, just in STEM fields, in 1972, women’s 

share of Ph.D.s in science, engineering, math, and medicine was 11 

percent. In 2006, in that same group, it’s 40 percent. 

In high school athletics—this is where you get the idea that if 

women gain, men lose. In the 1971–72 school year in high school, 

only about 294,000 girls participated in high school sports, compared to 3.6 million boys. That was about 7 percent. In 2010–11, 

the number of female athletes had increased more than tenfold to 

nearly 3.2 million, 41 percent of all high school athletes. Men saw 
36 

an increase as well—4.4 million male high school students now involved in sports. So both gained. 

College athletics—1971–72, fewer than 30,000 women participated in college sports, compared to 170,384 men. In 2010–11, 

193,000 females participated in college athletics, a six-time increase over 1971, and men went from 170,000 to 256,000. There 

was a gain there, also. It’s just not simply because women gained 

in sports and other areas that the men lost. 

The second thing I would like to ask you all is, let’s look at 

sports. I want to get to STEM, but let’s look at sports. I have been 

very much involved in trying to encourage physical exercise in 

schools for little kids, kids in elementary school and middle school. 

Some kids don’t take to competitive sports very well. I don’t care 

how hard I tried, I could never be a tennis player like Ms. King. 

I could never be a swimmer like you. There’s just nothing I could 

ever do to do that. I don’t have those attributes. I could do a little 

bit of this and a little bit of that. 

But address yourself to competitive sports versus non-competitive exercise for all kids in school who may not be able to engage 

in a competitive sport but need exercise at an early age in school 

so that they can stay healthy all their lives. Have you factored that 

in at all, thinking about that? 

Ms. KING. It’s all about exercise. It’s all about moving. My mother just turned 90 years old, and one saying she always has is you 

have to keep moving or it’s over. She always reports to me every 

day how many times she’s walked around this pathway in the 

home with her walker, and she always reports to me every evening 

when I call her. I’ve had that mantra be a part of me. 

Also I have a younger brother who is a professional baseball 

player, Randy Moffitt, who played most of his career with the San 

Francisco Giants as a relief pitcher. He and I were always moving. 

But it’s not important that you be in a competitive sport all the 

time, even though I do think it teaches you lessons in life and how 

to succeed. But the most important thing is to get them to dance, 

get them to walk, get them to run, get them to play. Play is very 

important. 

I’m on the President’s Council for Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, 

and some of the things that I’ve been learning because I’m on the 

President’s Council is that if you’ll get a child or young people to 

move even a minute to get circulation going—if they will exercise 

20 minutes before they take a huge exam, they do better. And it’s 

very obvious when you think about your circulation, getting oxygen 

to the brain. I’m not a scientist. I’ll defer to people over here that 

have a lot better education than I do in that area. 

But it’s so obvious that that works. It just helps everyone academically. It teaches them all kinds of things. But you don’t always 

have to be the super competitive athlete. 

The CHAIRMAN. I went to a small country school, but we had 15 

minutes in the morning, 15 minutes in the afternoon, and a halfhour lunch. One hour a day, we had to go outside and do something. 

Ms. KING. Right. 

The CHAIRMAN. And move around. That was every day. 

Ms. KING. Yes. 
37 

The CHAIRMAN. Today, the figures show—the figures that we 

have in this committee is that most kids in elementary school in 

America get less than 1 hour of P.E. or any kind of exercise per 

week. 

Ms. KING. Right. Yes. And they’re supposed to have 1 hour at 

least five times a week. 

The CHAIRMAN. I think so, yes. 

Ms. KING. Under 18. That’s the recommended time. 

The CHAIRMAN. I’ve just been rolling this around in my head that 

perhaps we ought to think about it in terms of sports. And when 

it comes to mind, sports—you’re playing against somebody. It’s a 

basketball or—don’t get me started on football, but, anyway, that 

type of thing. 

But maybe sports ought to be something else that maybe involves just exercise, getting your heart rate up and things—that 

you engage in that kind of a sport, an individual kind of a sport. 

Anyway, think about it. Maybe that ought to be redefined a little 

bit. 

Ms. KING. Actually, a lot of the manufacturers of video games are 

creating more and more exercise video games, because the young 

people have 7 to 8 hours of screen time a day. And they’re figuring, 

‘‘Well, if they’re going to be looking at the screen, if we can get 

them to exercise, then it’ll work.’’ We’re actually working together 

with the different companies. 

Dr. JEMISON. Senator Harkin, I was wondering if I could throw 

in something that actually ties the STEM and the arts and all of 

that together. One of the best questions I was ever asked by someone was by a little girl, who asked me—she was about 11 years 

old—asked me did dance—because everybody then knew I danced 

a lot when I was in high school and college. She said, ‘‘How did 

dance help you with the astronaut program?’’ And, of course, everyone laughed at her. 

But the reality is what you get from trying to dance very hard 

or other things is practice. You get a discipline and a commitment 

that you have to do. That discipline and commitment made it easy 

to go through, for example, what you have to do in medical school, 

where you just have to practice over and over again physical 

exams, the same kind of practice that you do in the astronaut program when you’re training for something. 

Sometimes it’s the discipline, the physicality to it, which also becomes one of those issues that you see with girls. Instilled in their 

confidence is the physicality of doing things, where you don’t just 

look pretty all the time. You’re sweating and you’re doing all those 

other things. 

I think it’s a combination of things, and I think it has an impact, 

yes, about obesity and other things that we’re interested in, but 

very far reaching in terms of how we see ourselves as humans and 

the confidence that we develop and its application to many other 

things that are not directly associated. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Admiral STOSZ. Senator, I’d like to put a push in for educating 

and training those young people at the young elementary school 

age in sports, in academics, so that we can develop them so they 

can be qualified to enter as applicants into the Federal service 
38 

academies truly having the athletic ability and being healthy 

enough to enter in and serve their nation should they so volunteer 

and choose to do so. It’s incredibly important for our national security. 

And to answer your first question, should women’s sports, if they 

rise, bring down men’s, at our Coast Guard Academy, we do have 

11 men’s varsity sports and nine women’s. But as we increased our 

women up toward the one-third percentage of our corps size now, 

we haven’t deleted any men’s programs. We’ve increased the women’s programs, and we’ve been committed to finding various funding mechanisms to do that, through non-appropriated funds and 

volunteer donations, to make sure that our women have the same 

opportunities. 

Coaching is the same. We just hired our first ever all full-time 

women’s basketball coach. We’re providing the equal opportunities 

without reducing the men’s. And we provide a lot of club sports. We 

require our cadets to do sports, because we understand the value 

of that activity, the physical exercise, toward their long-term health 

and service and ability to do their educational activities. 

We have club sports like Ultimate Frisbee and all that. Any 

given day, you can see cadets out on the fields, running around in 

loosely structured club sports in addition to the varsity programs. 

Ms. HOGSHEAD-MAKAR. Can I just add that sports isn’t for everyone, but it is for a lot more children than we are currently serving. 

Most athletic programs could literally double in size. As schools get 

bigger, the basketball team is still 15 kids. We could add lots of 

new different kinds of sports. And we need to make sure that kids 

who are late bloomers or who are genetically normal or who are already obese—that they still can fit into our sports program. 

What title IX does as a legal matter is it compares like programs. 

If you’re giving boys this educational program called athletics, then 

girls need to have that, too. But there’s no reason not to have an 

‘‘and’’ situation—and yoga, and dance, and—but you would offer 

those probably on a gender neutral basis, not on a sex segregation 

basis for all of our kids. But it’s not one or the other. 

I think part of what makes dance and what makes athletics valuable is because it’s hard, because you do have to really commit 

yourself, because you really do have to put yourself out there. And 

I think that’s what makes it so good for our country. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you all very much. 

Senator Enzi. 

Senator ENZI. Thank you. I made a lot of notes here, and I appreciate the testimony. 

Ms. King, I really appreciate the impediments that you listed in 

your testimony. And I think some of those impediments are probably for the academic part as well as the athletic part, and so I’ll 

pay some attention to that. 

I also liked what you just said about keeping moving. Because 

of this committee, I’ve done some research, and I found that most 

people who die are retired. 

[Laughter.] 

Ms. KING. So keep working. 

Senator ENZI. Now, that’s the usual reaction that I get. People 

think it’s funny. But they retire, they quit moving, and they die. 
39 

Ms. KING. Right. 

Senator ENZI. The ones that keep moving after they retire that 

do something that maybe they wanted to do all of their life live 

longer. So I appreciate your emphasis on that, and I still have 

some difficulties, I guess, with my thoughts, because I got to go to 

an aircraft carrier. And the specific reason they wanted me to see 

an aircraft carrier was to see the berthing rooms for women, and 

I thought surely for an event like that, they could let them go 

ashore. I didn’t realize that was b-e-r-t-h, the berths. I probably 

should have figured that out. 

[Laughter.] 

I was involved with starting some kids soccer and midget basketball. And when we started those programs, they were so small that 

the boys and the girls played on the same teams. And that’s been 

one of the best things that’s happened to sports in our community. 

There isn’t any—now, when they get older in high school, they pick 

up—they have to play girls’ basketball or boys’ basketball. They 

have to play girls’ soccer or boys’ soccer. 

But I can tell you the ones that played in that mixed program 

do much better. My daughter was in the soccer program, and one 

summer, she wanted to start going to summer camps. And I did a 

lot of research on it, and I found a camp that I thought would be 

perfect for her. She’s very academic, and at this one, they were 

supposed to get half academic classroom training in soccer and 

then the other half play soccer. 

I was pretty sure I’d made a mistake when I got to the camp and 

there were people juggling the ball over their shoulder and talking 

about a shootout they had in Kenya or something. At the end of 

the week, when I went to pick her up, she was a little discouraged. 

She said, ‘‘You know, everybody at this camp is better than I am.’’ 

And I’d gotten to watch her play a little bit, and I said, ‘‘Yes, but 

you are now better than every boy in your school.’’ And she became 

all-State, so some of those things pay off. 

Dr. Jemison, I appreciate the three E’s that you presented in 

your testimony, the exposure, expectation, and experience. I think 

it’s very important, and I can hardly wait to read your book, Find 

Where the Wind Goes. 

On Fridays, because of the time change with Wyoming, I can get 

on a plane here and usually be in Wyoming in time to talk to some 

classrooms. And one of the things I talk to them about is the importance of decoding. Kids are usually into decoding. I don’t know 

whether it’s from Star Trek or what. But I tell them that’s actually 

what reading is. It’s learning to decode books. 

And there are so many books out there on so many topics that 

anything they want to know about, they can find in a book if they 

can learn to decode it. And if they don’t learn to decode it, somebody else is going to be reading that book, and they are going to 

be doing much better than them. And I like to ask how many are 

athletes and if they’re reading books about their sport, and that 

helps. 

But it sounds like this could be an opportunity to exchange 

books. They tell me books that I ought to read, and I mention some 

books that they ought to read, and I suspect this is one that I’ll 

be suggesting that can help girls quite a bit. 
40 

I’ve used up my time, but I will submit some questions for the 

record, if you’d do me the honor of answering them. Most of the 

questions came up here while we were doing this, and I appreciate 

all of the testimony and the answers that you’ve given today—a 

tremendous help. And there are things that we need to do on this, 

and that’s what the questions will be about, what the next steps 

are. 

Ms. Hogshead-Makar, I appreciate your comments about we 

don’t need litigation, that we need probably some data transparency and some compliance reviews. And I’ll take a look at that 

and have some questions on that. 

Go ahead. 

Ms. HOGSHEAD-MAKAR. There’s only two things to argue about in 

a lawsuit: what are the facts, and what is the law? In most athletic 

cases, the facts are really clear, and now after 40 years of litigation, the law is really clear. So schools should be doing—usually, 

their behavior—but we do need to have the law there in case. 

But one of my favorite lines is, when I’m talking to an athletic 

director, ‘‘You can either believe me or a Federal judge.’’ I’m glad 

to have the backup behind me. It’s not just my personal good idea 

that these girls should have the same educational experience that 

the boys have. 

Senator ENZI. I think the law is essential, and I appreciate that 

comment from a law professor. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Hagan. 

Senator HAGAN. Mr. Chairman, I believe Senator Franken is 

next. 

The CHAIRMAN. Well, I always recognize in order of appearance. 

You were here before, even though you had to duck out. But if you 

would like to yield to Senator Franken, I will recognize—— 

Senator HAGAN. OK. Thank you. 

STATEMENT OF SENATOR HAGAN

Dr. Jemison, I do apologize for leaving, but I am aware of the 

written testimony that you’ve submitted, and it’s certainly inspiring. We must counter the notion that the STEM field is a male-only 

club. Women like you have long played an important role in the 

global quest for innovation. But as you well know, women still account for only 40 percent of our Nation’s science and engineering 

degrees and just 25 percent of math and computer science jobs. 

And I think the challenges of the next century are too great for half 

of our population to sit them out. We have to start thinking outside 

the box. 

What are your thoughts, specifically, on ways for us at the Federal level to better support girls and young women in the STEM 

fields? I’ve heard so many times that we lose so many of our girls 

in middle school, that that’s the age when all of a sudden they’re 

no longer as interested in math and science as they should be. 

I’ll have to admit, as a mother—I have one daughter who has her 

Ph.D. in geology—I know how hard it is to be sure to find all of 

those science programs, and after-school activities. There are lots 

of sports activities now, thank goodness to title IX, but we also 

need a lot more science and engineering. 
41 

Dr. JEMISON. What I’d like to start off with saying is that what 

we do to correct and help STEM field and STEM achievement for 

women will also improve STEM achievement for males. And the 

first thing we need to do is to really look at teacher training, because teachers in elementary school, which is where kids get a lot 

of that zest for life, the enthusiasm they have for what’s going on 

in the world around them—in elementary school, that’s beaten out 

of them by people who teach just by looking at the right answers. 

We need hands-on education. 

Teacher training is important because most elementary school 

teachers don’t take any science classes in college. That means that 

what they’re bringing to bear is whatever their biases and everything were when they were in high school. That’s where they had 

their last science classes. 

Hands-on education makes a difference. Can you imagine trying 

to learn how to read without having a book to practice from? That’s 

what reading is about. Science—you need to do experiments. It has 

to be hands-on. Kids love the bugs, the snails, the stuff in the 

couch—what is this? They love it. You have to be able to allow 

them to experiment, because it’s really about the critical thinking, 

the problem solving skills, the confidence that you gain when you 

try something out, when you mix something. 

And that doesn’t mean putting a computer in front of kids and 

watching things on computers. It means putting the plant, the potato plant, in the cup, measuring how fast the little eyes grow into 

stems. Those are the kinds of things that allow a child to explore 

the world. Those are the kinds of things that we need to do early 

on. 

I think one of the other things that we have to really pay attention to—and I don’t know how we do this at a Federal level in 

terms of the Government, but particularly nationally—is to change 

the expectations of what kids do. Right? We say all the time—we 

excuse poor accomplishment in STEM, right, in mathematics—I’m 

not so good at mathematics, but that’s OK. That’s not appropriate, 

because everyone can do these things. It’s just a matter of us paying attention to it and making a difference. 

I would also like to say that when we start talking about the loss 

of talent—yes, when we don’t include women, and they don’t graduate, or they don’t get involved in STEM jobs, whether it’s jobs 

that require 4-year degrees, whether they’re machinists or things 

like that, yes, we’re losing a lot of the talent that we have available. But I think that there’s something just as important. We’re 

losing the perspective that women bring to different issues. And I 

don’t mean in terms of whether they pay attention to what’s going 

on at home or not. It’s literally a perspective. Different people bring 

different perspectives. 

I wrote in my testimony that I remember when I went to medical 

school, the correct ‘‘therapy,’’ was a mastectomy for breast cancer. 

It’s a very disfiguring and also harmful kind of a surgery. Yet it 

wasn’t until women were involved that we actually started doing 

lumpectomies. 

When I was in medical school, people tried to help with testicular 

cancer. They’d do anything they could to keep from removing a testicle. And I just bring this up because it’s a difference in perspec-
42 

tive. We have different perspectives that bring to bear, and it 

would be a shame if we lost that perspective. 

Finally, Senator Harkin had mentioned earlier about people’s 

perception that folks lose out when women come in, that men lose 

out. Because of title IX, how many nurses did you see who were 

male before title IX? I know, fundamentally, it’s changed things for 

the better for men as well. 

Thank you. 

Senator HAGAN. Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Enzi, I 

really do appreciate you holding this hearing today. I think there 

is a lot of good information. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Hagan. 

Senator Franken. 

STATEMENT OF SENATOR FRANKEN

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I second that. 

Dr. Jemison, in your answer to Senator Hagan’s question, you 

kind of immediately went to teachers, the STEM teachers. And I 

think STEM teachers are really important. If you’re a STEM teacher and a really good one, your value on the marketplace, if you 

have those STEM skills, might be higher than, you know, the great 

English teacher who teaches Moby Dick. But if you have science 

and technology and engineering and mathematic skills and talent, 

your value on the open market is higher. 

So I put in a piece of legislation called the STEM Master Teacher 

Corps, which is basically to support excellent STEM teachers and 

to give them a little bit of elevated salary, but also to give them 

a responsibility to mentor newer or less accomplished STEM teachers so that we retain them. I mean, we’re spending money to recruit them. Let’s retain STEM teachers in our junior highs and in 

our high schools. 

What do you think of that approach? 

Dr. JEMISON. I think the approach of having master STEM teachers is very important. Yes, it’s important in high school, but I’m 

going to harken back and go back to elementary school, because it’s 

elementary school where kids still are fascinated by science, and 

they haven’t learned that they’re not supposed to be. It’s in middle 

school where they start to fall out. So unless they have the really 

effective science education early on, it won’t make a difference. And 

I should add that most of the STEM education, most of science, 

mathematics education in elementary school is done by general 

teachers, right, in first, second, third, fourth, fifth grade. Rarely do 

you have a teacher who specializes in STEM. 

I would add onto that that master teachers should be available 

to help proctor, mentor, augment, provide professional development 

for elementary school teachers, because that’s where we really have 

to take advantage and exploit that incredible capacity that students have for learning. It’s right there where you can capture 

them, and then they get through eighth grade and puberty and 

hormones and everything OK, and they’re able to go on through 

high school and maintain that same enthusiasm. And then your 

master teachers there can also help to change the way teachers 

teach in high school. 
43 

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you for that answer, and I agree with 

you. I think that’s a great function for these STEM master teachers 

to be there for elementary school teachers. 

I’ll throw this open to everyone. I once read that the No. 1 determinant of whether a kid graduates from high school is whether he 

or she identifies with her school. This can be through an athletic 

program. It can be through a dance program. It could be through 

the chess team. It can be through anything. But it seems like we 

have put this emphasis on testing and testing and testing in a very 

narrow way and not enough on those kinds of extracurriculars that 

are associated with the school for those students who maybe their 

identity—their feeling of identity with their own school comes 

through something else. 

Does anyone have any comment on that? And, again, this is 

about high school, not about college. 

Ms. KING. So identifying with the school? 

Senator FRANKEN. Yes. In other words—— 

Ms. KING. I went to Long Beach Poly, and I absolutely loved 

going there, because every morning, I looked up to my left and saw 

the home of scholars and champions—scholars first, champions— 

and we mean champions in life as well as everything. And then as 

I would enter the school, it said, ‘‘Enter to learn. Go forth to serve.’’ 

Every single day, I went to school, which was almost every day. 

I absolutely embraced those two things, absolutely embraced them. 

We had great scholars at our school, and we had great athletes. In 

fact, we’ve probably had more NFL players and baseball and other 

sports than any other—the girls—that was a different situation 

when I attended. Now, it’s obviously much better. 

But to add—can I just ask something about the order that math 

is taught, because I’ve talked to Dr. Sally Ride, who you’ve mentioned, and she said that most countries do the math in a different 

progression, that physics comes first, and then—but I know I had 

algebra first, and I would love to understand—does that make a 

difference? That was a big discussion I’ve been involved—I mean, 

I love science and math. I’m not any good at it, but we know we 

have to be strong in that area in this country. 

Dr. JEMISON. Some people teach physics before they teach biology 

because they say physics is actually much simpler to learn. But you 

do need the algebra and other things to underpin the physics, so 

you need the algebra and the geometry. 

Some people think that you can teach algebra much earlier in 

school, so in seventh and eighth grades, students are capable of 

taking algebra and geometry. So I think that we do have to go back 

and really review our curriculum and whether or not some of the 

ideas that we held before are really—— 

Ms. KING. Because I keep hearing that other countries teach 

physics almost first because it’s in everything. So I’m asking you. 

You’re the pro. 

Senator FRANKEN. Ms. King, I’m asking the questions here. 

[Laughter.] 

Ms. KING. Sorry, Senator. 

[Laughter.] 

Ms. KING. I thought we—— 

Senator FRANKEN. Go ahead. 
44 

Ms. KING. No, go ahead. But I don’t understand—to your point, 

anyway, to get back to schools—— 

Senator FRANKEN. Are you competitive in some way? 

Ms. KING. Yes, but I identified with the school thing. But, anyway, that was my school story. I just have this math question that 

drives me crazy. Sorry. You guys started it. 

Senator FRANKEN. No, I’m fascinated, and I think—yes. 

Ms. KING. Senator Hagan and Senator Franken, you started this 

teacher thing in the math and science—the STEM things. 

Admiral STOSZ. Senator, as a recipient of young high school graduates into the Coast Guard Academy, I can attest that they are 

thirsting for identity in a world filled with more and more choices. 

An innumerable number of choices, and not always the direction 

that we would like to see them get with those kinds of targeted instructors, teachers, when they’re in elementary school to develop 

them early on without necessarily the sense of core values and 

character that we need to see in them when they come to us. They 

are thirsting for identity. They are thirsting to be part of something bigger than themselves. 

Dr. JEMISON. And I would just echo that the engagement makes 

a difference, that as you have students engaged in part of what 

they’re doing, it makes a difference. I put together a program called 

The Earth We Share. We have 12- to 16-year-olds. I like to play 

with that hard age group. 

They solve problems in teams, and, fundamentally, they appreciate the fact that we’re asking them to solve problems and asking 

them to give their answers in front of everyone, because that 

means that they’re engaged, and it makes a difference that they, 

that individual, was a part of the process. They couldn’t have been 

anyone else and come with that same answer, and I think that 

that’s part of the identity that we see both with recognizing high 

schools, what high schools you went to, as well as whether or not 

you belong to some group that’s doing well. 

Senator FRANKEN. Ms. Hogshead-Makar, I saw that you had a 

comment. 

Ms. HOGSHEAD-MAKAR. Yes. I hate to be a kill-joy here, but let 

me point to two different research studies, one, again, Betsey Stevenson, same research I was quoting before that looked at athletics, and she compared it with other afterschool activities—yearbook, debate team, et cetera—and found that sports uniquely provided this bump in education that other activities did not. I don’t 

know if it’s gender identity or—not gender—I don’t know if it’s 

identity with the school. 

And there’s one more interesting study that was done by Professor Clotfelter out of Duke University that looked at men who attend schools with successful football and basketball programs. And 

when the school is in season, they actually do worse in school and 

do not make it up later on in their academic career. So it has this 

negative bump that only affects males. Having a successful team 

does not affect females and their grade point averages. But there 

are fewer downloads of scholarly articles that never get made up 

later on with—it’s not like we have Saturday and Sunday and 

there’s more articles that are done. 
45 

At the high school level, I had not heard that research before and 

I’m interested to dig more into it and see how this other research 

makes sense with that, because it seems like a very successful football and basketball program for men has a—it may provide identity 

with the school, but it has a very negative impact on their education. 

Senator FRANKEN. Well, we’ve gone well over my time. I blame 

Ms. King. 

[Laughter.] 

Ms. KING. I’m sorry. I apologize, Senator Franken. You got me 

thinking. It’s all your fault. 

Senator FRANKEN. Well, you’re a hero of mine, so you’re forgiven, 

I guess. 

[Laughter.] 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Franken. 

Now Senator Blumenthal. 

STATEMENT OF SENATOR BLUMENTHAL

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

And I just want to make clear that if you want to ask questions 

of each other, fine with me. You can even ask questions of me. I 

am not at all threatened. I am impressed. 

[Laughter.] 

Let me first of all thank you, Mr. Chairman, for having this 

hearing. It has been extraordinarily useful. 

Thank you for being here, each of you. You are genuinely heroes, 

not only role models for other women and girls, but really heroes. 

And I want to thank, particularly, Admiral Stosz. Thank you for 

your leadership at the Coast Guard Academy. You and I have seen 

each other in a variety of occasions and ceremonies, and I can attest, personally, to the difference that you’ve made in just a year 

at the Academy. 

I want to ask you, first of all, what do you think are the most 

difficult challenges you face in leading that educational institution, 

in attracting and keeping and supporting women? And what are 

the lessons that you think we can apply to other military academies in that way? 

Admiral STOSZ. It’s interesting you ask that question about the 

biggest challenges we have at the Coast Guard Academy in attracting women, because, actually, that’s one of the strong points of our 

Coast Guard Academy. We offer young women a chance to serve 

their nation as a part of one of the five Federal service academies. 

But we offer in the Coast Guard so many various missions, as 

you know, 11 different broad missions from law enforcement to 

search and rescue to marine environmental protection. And our 

biggest major for women at the Coast Guard Academy of our eight 

majors, six of them being STEM, is our marine environmental 

science major. 

We find that we attract women in huge numbers. In fact, the 

bulk of our applicants this year in the class of 2016 coming in were 

women more than men this year. And 37 percent of our incoming 

class this year will be women. We actually find it a wealth of op-
46 

portunity to reach out to the young women and attract them to the 

Coast Guard Academy. 

I guess the biggest challenges with retention come after graduation from the Coast Guard Academy. When young women graduate 

and start to have to make these tough tradeoff decisions of marriage and having children and serving their country, moving 

around a lot, there comes the retention challenge when all these 

choices add up to very tough tradeoff decisions for young women. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Thank you. And those are really the same 

kinds of choices that face women in many different professions. 

Admiral STOSZ. Yes, Senator. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Let me ask you, Professor HogsheadMakar—I’ve said to people at various points, because I was attorney general of our State for 20 years, ‘‘you can believe me or believe a Federal judge.’’ I know that sometimes you have to tell 

someone that. But I wonder whether you have found that enforcement by the Federal Government has been sufficient, because, as 

you know as a professor of law, any law is only as good as the enforcement of it. 

What would be your judgment on how well Federal or other authorities are doing? 

Ms. HOGSHEAD-MAKAR. I think that if you get a good investigator 

with the Office for Civil Rights, the OCR, you can get a very good 

result. But many times, you either don’t get a good investigator 

or—after a complaint is filed, then the two parties come together, 

the school and the OCR. Those two parties get together, and the 

school will have some cockamamie excuse about—and that’s a legal 

term—about why it is that they’re doing something or why it is 

that something should be considered legal. And the plaintiff, or the 

person that filed the complaint, is completely left out of the process. 

So it can be very effective, and sometimes it’s not. But what’s 

really missing in terms of enforcement is having the Department 

of Education through the Office of Civil Rights go in and get an entire region, go and get an entire State. Forget this one-by-one 

school. We just have too many, and we don’t have the resources for 

it. Let them go and file complaints and get compliance reviews and 

then have the school come and say, ‘‘Well, here’s our defense’’ or 

‘‘Here’s why we’re not giving boys and girls the same amount.’’ 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. So a broader enforcement approach. 

Ms. HOGSHEAD-MAKAR. A broader enforcement approach, yes. 

There’s a guy that’s been previewed in numerous magazines. His 

name is Herb Dempsey. Herb Dempsey is a retired guy whose 

daughters played sports, and has gone around and done this 

whack-a-mole kind of thing, and he’s tired of it. He has tried to file 

these broad complaints, and the Department of Education has 

said—I mean, frankly, right now, they just don’t have the resources. We need to give them the resources to be able to for all 

the reasons that I talked about before. 

There is no reason 40 years later—I used to be sympathetic to 

schools—oh, gosh, that’s too bad. You didn’t build the same softball 

facilities you built for the men’s baseball, and now there’s a budget 

crisis, and what are you going to do? Hey, 40 years—I’m not sympathetic anymore, like you couldn’t plan, you couldn’t figure this 
47 

out in 40 years? This is not new news for anybody as to what they 

need to be doing. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Thank you. My time has expired, but I’d 

very much like to followup on this issue. And if you have further 

thoughts, perhaps we can talk about it some more. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Blumenthal. 

Senator Murray. 

STATEMENT OF SENATOR MURRAY

Senator MURRAY. Well, thank you very much to all of our witnesses for being here and your testimony. 

Chairman Harkin and Senator Enzi, thank you so much for holding this hearing. It’s just really exciting to me that 40 years ago, 

a mere 37 words really threw open the doors to athletics, education, and success for so many women in our country today. It was 

very simple, title IX, but it was very powerful, and it really has delivered some pretty amazing results. When you look at the statistics back in 1972, only 7 percent of high school athletes were girls. 

In 2011, 42 percent were girls. We’ve made a lot of progress. 

But it isn’t just about statistics. It is about real people. And I’ve 

seen it in my own family. When I went to college at Washington 

State University, there was maybe one or two opportunities for 

women, and, scholarships in athletics were unheard of. And 15 

years later, watching my own daughter go to watch her classmates 

compete in high school basketball State championships and watching my daughter play soccer, and all of her friends who really succeeded in athletics—it is just really great to watch. I’m really proud 

of the progress we have made. 

But I also know the work is not yet done, and you’ve talked a 

little bit about that today. And we can’t let up, because we need 

to keep expanding opportunities so my granddaughter one day will 

be able to say, ‘‘And now here’s where we are.’’ And that’s why I 

have co-sponsored bipartisan legislation with Senator Olympia 

Snowe to strengthen title IX and make sure it continues to deliver 

results for every young woman. 

Our bill is the High School Data Transparency Act, and what it 

does is shine a really bright light on how high schools are treating 

their female athletes, to make sure that we have good data on the 

numbers of female and male students and athletes as well as their 

budgets and expenditures. It’ll give us the information at that 

level. 

Professor Hogshead-Makar, I wanted to ask you today: How have 

female college students benefited from the transparency that surrounds funding and resources for men’s and women’s college, and 

what have been the implications of not having that data at the 

high school level? 

Ms. HOGSHEAD-MAKAR. You’re referring to what’s called the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act that was passed, I believe, like 

1990 or 1995, right around there—that you can go onto a Web site 

and look at what are the participation opportunities and what are 

the budgets and all those kinds of things. 

They do a number of things. No. 1, they tell girls before they go 

to the school whether or not they should go to that school. Are they 
48 

really going to be valuing boys’ and girls’ sports experiences. If they 

want to go to a particular school that has the kind of elite or not 

elite level of sports that they want, it lets them know what that 

is. But it also lets them know whether or not it’s fair for them to 

go into the athletic department and say, ‘‘I want to start a new 

sport,’’ or whether or not for a club team to go in and say, ‘‘We 

want to be elevated up to varsity status.’’ 

So the first thing that happens—Jacksonville, FL, or University 

of North Florida cut its women’s swimming team. I went onto the 

Equity Athletics Disclosure Act. I talked to the president of the 

university and said, ‘‘Here’s the numbers I have. Unless you can 

show me something different, you cannot cut your women’s program.’’ And within a week, the program was reinstated. It should 

be that easy. 

With high school, it’s not so easy. Parents are very typically unsophisticated, and for them to be able to get that kind of data to 

make those spot changes of either not closing or adding new programs—it’s very difficult for them to get that information. It’s also 

the way that they’re usually given information—most schools do 

provide boys and girls in the high school level with the same number of sports. But the boys’ sports have a lot more participation. 

Football is 125, baseball is 35, basketball is 15. And here over on 

the girls’ side, you’ll have—tennis will be 8, golf will be 8, cross 

country will be 10. 

Looking at numbers of teams doesn’t tell you very much. That’s 

why we need to have this Transparency Act that will avoid litigation, as I was saying earlier, and enable families to go in—this is 

what we do. We sit there with a phone, and I try to educate them 

enough so that they can go and talk to their own athletic department and explain and get the resources that they need for their 

girls’ teams. 

Senator MURRAY. I served on a school board many years ago. Believe me, to parents, knowledge is a powerful thing. So that information is important. 

Ms. King, did you want to add anything to that? 

Ms. KING. No. I just would love to have this passed so we can 

get the data. We’ve been trying for years on the Hill to get this 

passed, because we know it’s so necessary to what Nancy alluded 

to. 

Ms. HOGSHEAD-MAKAR. Schools already have the data, and they 

already have to report it to the Department of Education. This is 

just making it available on a public Web site so that every family 

can see this information. 

Ms. KING. And look at the numbers, not just the sports numbers, 

but the actual individual numbers. 

Ms. HOGSHEAD-MAKAR. They already know how many kids are 

playing tennis or swimming or golf or lacrosse. 

Senator MURRAY. OK. Mr. Chairman, we are working very hard 

on that. I think it’s a very important step in making sure that 80 

years from now we can really celebrate. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate this hearing. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Murray. 

I wanted to ask about that act. I’m glad you came. You’re the 

chief sponsor of it, and, hopefully, we can get it through. I think 
49 

the data is important and that we make sure that the public knows 

the data. 

Did anyone have—yes, Dr. Jemison. 

Dr. JEMISON. I wanted to just add something in terms of data 

and transparency of data that sometimes comes not just from looking at what we’re doing in the United States, but looking in other 

places. Right now, we’re very comfortable with saying how many 

women are in engineering and thinking that as we’re here in the 

United States that we’re probably best in the class. But that’s not 

true. 

One of the transparencies of data that I’d like for us to understand is, for example, that culture and biases do impact women 

strongly, and that bias keeps them from doing things even if you 

have the programs there. For example, we know that 40 percent 

of the students at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez’s engineering programs are women. That’s something that would be 

different to us. We know we have engineering programs, but how 

many are women? 

In Romania, 44 percent of the researchers in engineering and 

technology are women. Yet in the United States, only 11 percent 

of the engineers are women. In some kind of way, as we’re starting 

to look at the data, we also need to compare and see if there are 

other places we can go that we can start to understand and tease 

out what that data means and how do we respond to it. 

The CHAIRMAN. Again, role models like you help. But also, I 

think, in our elementary and secondary education, we’ve got to do 

more to focus on young women—in our grade schools and middle 

schools—to get them involved in more science and engineering. 

When I was a kid, engineers were men. That was just it. It was 

just men, and young women didn’t aspire to that. 

But I think we have to do a better job in early grade school, making sure that they have the right course of instruction, and the 

support to know that they can become engineers or scientists or 

medical researchers. We haven’t done as good a job as we should 

have in the past. We’ve got to do better in that area. 

Anything else that anybody wants to add that I didn’t ask or 

didn’t bring up or hasn’t been said? 

Ms. HOGSHEAD-MAKAR. I’ll say one thing. The National Women’s 

Law Center is today releasing something on pregnant and parenting students, that pregnant and parenting for both boys and 

girls, men and women, is something that keeps them from achieving their educational activities. Pregnancy discrimination is prohibited under title IX. But a lot of people don’t know—what does that 

mean? I mean, if the girl has to go to have a physician’s appointment, is that—I’m treating her just like I’m treating everybody 

else. 

In fact, the regulations are pretty clear that you need to treat 

that, No. 1, the same way you would treat any other short-term 

disability. And two is that pregnancy is a special category. Even if 

you don’t take care of mononucleosis or you don’t take care of a 

knee injury, you still need to take care of pregnancy in a way that’s 

different. But, certainly, we need to make sure that women, not 

just in athletics, but women broadly are able to participate regardless of their pregnant or parenting status. 
50 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. 

Senator Blumenthal, did you have anything else? 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I might just 

read one sentence, which I think is very telling, from that report. 

And it’s, 

‘‘Unfortunately, four decades after its passage, far too few 

lawmakers, school officials, parents, and students are aware 

that title IX’s prohibition against sex discrimination protects 

pregnant and parenting students.’’ 

I think that lack of awareness is very, very important. 

I wonder, Ms. King, and also, Professor, what your foundation is 

contemplating in terms of raising awareness or other steps that 

you’re thinking about taking. 

Ms. HOGSHEAD-MAKAR. Sure. I had the privilege of working with 

the NCAA to write model pregnant and parenting policies for 

schools. What was happening was Julie Foudy, a colleague of ours 

at the foundation, went and did a story on ‘‘Outside the Lines’’ 

showing that girls that were pregnant were being forced to have 

abortions or give up their scholarships. 

And right away, the NCAA got on it, hired me and a Ph.D. nurse 

practitioner, and we wrote out a legal memo and sort of an overall 

piece, but—policies that the schools can just literally take out of 

the material and put into their student handbook to let them know 

that they don’t need to slink away and go off into the future, that 

their scholarship is protected, and that their ability to come back 

is protected, and that their rehabilitation is protected, and that— 

we need to make sure that our biases on what pregnancy does to 

a woman’s body and whether or not women can still perform—a lot 

of coaches think like, ‘‘Oh, after pregnancy, it’s all over,’’ and it’s 

just not. 

We know in the tennis world and swimming world, we have Dara 

Torres, who is a parent and is still doing well. So, yes, there are 

model policies out there, particularly for athletics. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. I’d like to thank each of our witnesses for their 

excellent testimony. With the trails that you have all blazed and 

the important work that each of you do, you are an inspiration to 

all of us. 

For me, indeed, for the entire committee, this has been a very 

valuable hearing. It has reminded us of the many important advances that title IX has made possible for boys and girls, men and 

women, our entire country. 

We have come a long way since 1972. I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect on the positive strides we’ve made over the last 40 

years in this issue, but also for the reminders that achieving full 

equality will require continued effort. 

We’ll leave the record open for 10 days. I want to thank my colleagues for all their hard work, not just on gender equality but also 

the other important issues we work on in this committee. 

The HELP Committee will stand adjourned. 

Thank you. 

[Additional material follows.] 
51 

1 AAUW. (June 2011). Public Policy Principles 2011–13). Retrieved June 22, 2012, from 

www.aauw.org/act/issueladvocacy/principleslpriorities.cfm. 2 National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education. (June 2012). Title IX: Working to Ensure Gender Equity in Education. Retrieved June 22, 2012, from http://ncwge.org/TitleIX40/ 

TitleIX-print.pdf. 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF LISA MAATZ, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC POLICY AND

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN (AAUW) 

Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Enzi, and members of the committee, thank 

you for the opportunity to submit testimony for the hearing ‘‘Forty Years and Counting: The Triumphs of Title IX.’’ 

The American Association of University Women is a membership organization 

founded in 1881 with more than 145,000 members and supporters and 1,000 

branches nationwide. AAUW is proud of its 131-year history of breaking through 

barriers for women and girls and has always been a strong supporter of gender equity in education. Today, AAUW continues its mission through education, research, 

and advocacy. Among AAUW’s member-adopted public policy principles is a commitment to the ‘‘protection of programs that meet the needs of girls and women in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education, including vigorous enforcement 

of title IX and all other civil rights laws pertaining to education.’’ 1

Title IX has created enormous opportunities for women and girls in education, 

opening doors that were previously closed. But not all doors have been opened. A 

recent report by the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, which 

AAUW is honored to chair, found that 

‘‘Girls and women have made great strides in education since the passage of 

title IX. Time and again, girls and women have proved that they have the interest and aptitude to succeed in areas once considered the exclusive purview of 

males. Despite tremendous progress, however, challenges to equality in education still exist.’’ 2

ADDRESSING GAPS IN ATHLETIC OPPORTUNITIES

One key success of title IX has been the exponential increase of female participation in sports. In response to greater opportunities to play, the number of high 

school girls participating in sports has risen tenfold in the past 40 years, while six 

times as many women compete in collegiate sports. These gains demonstrate the 

principle underlying the legislation: women and girls have an equal interest in 

sports and deserve equal opportunities to participate. 

Despite the substantial benefits of participation in sports and title IX’s protections 

against sex discrimination, the playing field is still not level for girls. Girls are twice 

as likely to be inactive as boys, and female students have fewer opportunities to participate in both high school and college sports than their male counterparts. Greater 

enforcement of title IX and diligent efforts to advance women and girls in sports 

are still necessary to achieve truly equal opportunity on the playing fields. 

This gap in opportunity is why AAUW supports the bipartisan High School Data 

Transparency Act (S. 1269), which was introduced by Senators Olympia Snowe (R– 

ME) and Patty Murray (D–WA). This bill would require that high schools report 

basic data on the number of female and male students participating in their athletic 

programs and the expenditures made for their sports teams. This is not a new burden for schools, which already collect the data required under this legislation. However, currently this data is not publicly available. This bill would make this baseline 

title IX information available to parents, students, teachers and anyone interested 

in monitoring a school’s effort to provide equal athletic opportunities for all students. 

The importance of reporting data related to athletics lies at the heart of title IX 

enforcement. A record number of women are now actively participating in collegiate 

sports in large part due to the accountability requirements under the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act of 1994, which requires colleges and universities to publicly account for how their athletic opportunities, resources, and dollars are allocated 

among male and female athletes. AAUW believes that in many cases sunshine can 

be the best of disinfectants, and that reporting requirements might account for part 

of the success in the narrowing athletics gap at the college level. 

It has been a significant drawback to title IX enforcement that no such accountability requirement exists at the high school level. While colleges must be transparent about their athletic opportunities and funding, high schools are not required 
52 

3 National Federation of State High School Associations. (2009). 2008–2009 High School Athletics Participation Survey. Retrieved March 9, 2010, from www.nfhs.org/content.aspx?id=3282 

&linkidentifier=id&itemid=3282 and National Center for Educational Statistics. 2006–07. Retrieved March 9, 2010 from http://nces.ed.gov/. 4Women’s Sports Foundation. (December 12, 2007). Women’s Sports & Physical Activity Facts 

& Statistics. Retrieved January 16, 2008, from www.womenssportsfoundation.org/binary-data/ 

WSFlARTICLE/pdflfile/191.pdf. 5The New York Times (February 16, 2010). As Girls Become Women, Sports Pay Dividends. 

Retrieved March 1, 2010, from www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/health/16well.html. 6 Ibid. 

7 American Association of University Women. (June 2011). 2011–13 AAUW Public Policy Program. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from www.aauw.org/advocacy/issueladvocacy/principleslpriorities.cfm. 8 AAUW. (2011). Crossing the Line. Retrieved June 22, 2012, from www.aauw.org/learn/research/crossingtheline.cfm. 9 American Association of University Women. (2001). Hostile Hallways: Bullying, Teasing, and 

Sexual Harassment in School, 4. Retrieved on February 15, 2011, from www.aauw.org/learn/ 

research/upload/hostilehallways.pdf. 10 U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. (October 26, 2010). Dear Colleague 

Letter. Retrieved June 28, 2012, from www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague201010.pdf. 

to report data on either statistic to any higher authority. As a result, students, parents, and policymakers do not know which high school girls are being deprived of 

the opportunity to play sports. National studies show that while girls comprise half 

of the high school population, they receive only 41 percent of all athletic participation opportunities—1.3 million fewer participation opportunities than male high 

school athletes.3 Statistics have shown that girls thrive when they participate in 

sports, and are less likely to get pregnant, drop out of school, do drugs, smoke, or 

develop mental illness.4

In addition, increasing children’s physical activity can help combat childhood obesity, which is at an all-time high. Over the past three decades, childhood obesity 

rates in the United States have tripled, and today, one in three American children 

are overweight or obese.5 The issue is receiving even more attention after the creation of the Presidential Task Force on Childhood Obesity and the Let’s Move program. The High School Data Transparency Act could aid in decreasing childhood 

obesity by helping to ensure that schools are providing all of their students with 

equal opportunities to benefit from school sports programs. The New York Times has 

highlighted research that found that the ‘‘increase in girls’ athletic participation 

caused by title IX was associated with a 7 percent lower risk of obesity 20 to 25 

years later, when women were in their late 30s and early 40s.’’ The study notes that 

while a 7 percent decline in obesity is modest, ‘‘no other public health program can 

claim similar success.’’ 6 Simply put, properly enforcing title IX and increasing children’s physical activity can lower obesity risks even into adulthood. 

Because the benefits girls receive from participating in sports can lead to success 

in all aspects of life, AAUW supports the passage of the High School Data Transparency Act (S. 1269). 

CONFRONTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND BULLYING IN SCHOOLS

AAUW believes that quality public education is the foundation of a democratic society, and strongly supports equitable school climates free of harassment and bullying.7 A recent AAUW report, Crossing the Line, found that nearly half of all middle and high school students report being sexually harassed in school.8 Sexual harassment and bullying have a damaging impact on the education of students, and 

disrupts students’ ability to learn and succeed in their studies.9

Under title IX, schools have both the authority and obligation to tackle these 

problems. As the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) said in 

2010: 

Title IX prohibits harassment of both male and female students regardless of 

the sex of the harasser—i.e., even if the harasser and target are members of 

the same sex. It also prohibits gender-based harassment, which may include 

acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, intimidation, or hostility based 

on sex or sex-stereotyping.10

OCR also found that title IX protects students from sexual harassment, finding 

that in 2011 that: 
53 

11 U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. (April 4, 2011). Dear Colleague Letter. Retrieved June 28, 2012, from www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201104.pdf. 12 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). The Condition of Education 2009 (NCES 2009–081). Retrieved March 22, 2012, from http://nces.ed.gov/ 

pubs2009/2009081.pdf. 13 Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology. CPST (2006) Professional Women 

and Minorities: A Total Human Resources Data Compendium. 16th ed. Washington, DC. 14 Ibid. 15 National Academies of Science. (2006). Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential 

of Women in Academic Science and Engineering. Retrieved March 22, 2012, from www.nap.edu/ 

catalog.php?recordlid=11741#toc. 16Layne, Margaret Edith. (June 19, 2007). ‘‘U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor 

Hearing, 110th Congress: Building on the Success of 35 Years of Title IX.’’ Retrieved March 22, 

2012, from http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110lhouselhearings& 

docid=f:35961.pdf. 17 National Academies of Science. (2006). Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential 

of Women in Academic Science and Engineering. Retrieved March 22, 2012, from www.nap.edu/ 

catalog.php?recordlid=11741#toc. 

‘‘The sexual harassment of students, including sexual violence, interferes with 

students’ right to receive an education free from discrimination and, in the case 

of sexual violence, is a crime.’’ 11

Yet while Federal laws currently protect students on the basis of their race, color, 

sex, religion, disability or national origin, no Federal statute explicitly protects students on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. The 

Student Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 998/S. 555) would do just that. It would protect students from various forms of bullying and harassment, such as sex stereotyping and bullying based on a student’s actual or perceived gender identity. 

Another critical law is the Safe Schools Improvement Act (H.R. 1648/S. 506). This 

bipartisan legislation would help provide a safe learning environment for all our 

children at schools nationwide. It would make sure that States, districts, and 

schools have policies in place that prohibit bullying and harassment; that schools 

and districts establish complaint procedures to effectively respond to instances of 

harassment; and that States include information regarding bullying and harassment 

in their required drug and violence prevention reports. The SSIA would also provide 

opportunities for States, districts, and schools to offer professional development to 

faculty and staff to learn how to prevent bullying and harassment, and also to implement student education programs designed to teach students about the issues 

around, and consequences of, bullying and harassment. 

AAUW believes it is past time to pass the Student Non-Discrimination Act 

(H.R. 998/S. 555) and the Safe Schools Improvement Act (H.R. 1648/S. 506). 

CLOSING THE GENDER GAP IN STEM EDUCATION

Other challenges to gender equity in education persist, such as women and girls’ 

lagging engagement in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. Although 

women now comprise a majority of college students, earning 57 percent of undergraduate degrees in 2006–7,12 they are underrepresented in STEM fields. 

Even when women do pursue STEM careers, their academic achievements still 

have not translated into workplace parity—particularly in academia. Women represent fewer than one in five faculty members employed in computer science, mathematics, engineering and the physical sciences.13 In engineering in particular, women 

account for just over 1 in 10 faculty members.14 A National Academy of Sciences 

study, Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic 

Science and Engineering, notes that women faculty are slower to gain promotion 

than men, are less likely to reach the highest academic rank, have lower salaries, 

and are awarded less grant money than their male colleagues.15 At the university 

level, perceptions of equity vary among faculty. Through research at Virginia Tech, 

the Society of Women Engineers has found that 78 percent of male faculty members 

believe that faculty members are treated fairly regardless of gender, versus only 41 

percent of female faculty members.16

Further, Beyond Bias and Barriers concludes that women face a lifetime of subtle 

biases that discourage them from careers in science and engineering.17 AAUW highlighted the same problem in its report Why So Few, which found that girls who pursue STEM fields are still stigmatized, and that harmful stereotypes persist regarding girls’ lack of ability and/or interest in STEM. Girls in K–12 are discouraged from 

pursuing mathematics and science courses; undergraduate women transfer out of 

STEM fields before graduating because of unsupportive classroom environments 

characterized by lack of role models, a limited peer group, and outdated pedagogy; 
54 

18 AAUW. (2010). Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. 

Retrieved October 21, 2011, from aauw.org/learn/research/upload/whysofew.pdf. 19 ‘‘Pregnancy Test for Schools: The Impact of Education Laws on Pregnant and Parenting 

Students’’ may be found at www.nwlc.org/site/default/files/findglnwlclpregnantparentingl 

report.pdf. 

and women scientists and engineers earn less and advance more slowly than men 

in both academia and the private sector.18

To overcome these challenges, AAUW supports requiring Federal agencies to 

broadly and proactively conduct title IX compliance reviews. Title IX regulations require recipients of Federal education funding to evaluate their current policies and 

practices, and adopt and publish grievance procedures and a policy against sex discrimination. All agencies are required by law to ensure they are not violating title 

IX; however very few title IX reviews are conducted outside of the Department of 

Education. Simply put, title IX reviews ensure that women are not being discriminated against. Federal agencies and departments should conduct title IX compliance 

reviews at grantee institutions regularly. AAUW believes that it should be a government-wide priority that agencies use their contracting and grant making authority 

to ensure universities receiving agency funding are complying with title IX. 

These and other challenges affect the ability of all students—male and female— 

to get the most out of their education. This in turn endangers the ability of U.S. 

schools and universities to produce skilled workers who can succeed in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. Title IX is an important law, and has a critical 

role in the quality of our students’ education. We must ensure that it is as robust 

as possible. 

Thank you for this opportunity to submit testimony to the committee on this important issue. 

NATIONAL WOMEN’S LAW CENTER, 

WASHINGTON, DC 20036, 

June 19, 2012. 

TOM HARKIN, Chairman, 

MICHAEL ENZI, Ranking Member, 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 

U.S. Senate, 

Washington, DC 20515. 

DEAR CHAIRMAN HARKIN AND RANKING MEMBER ENZI: Thank you for the opportunity to submit a letter for today’s hearing, ‘‘Forty Years and Counting: The Triumphs of Title IX.’’ The National Women’s Law Center has worked since 1972 to 

advance and protect the legal rights of women and girls across the country. The 

Center focuses on major policy areas of importance to women and their families, including education, employment, health and reproductive rights, and economic security—with particular attention paid to the concerns of low-income women. The Center is grateful that the committee is shining a spotlight on the tremendous progress 

that has been made for women and girls over the last four decades. We also know 

that title IX’s important work to remove discriminatory barriers is far from complete. 

Today the Center released a comprehensive report that shows the impact of pervasive discrimination against an often overlooked area of title IX—pregnant and 

parenting students. A Pregnancy Test for Schools: The Impact of Education Laws 

on Pregnant and Parenting Students 19 details the many obstacles to completing 

their secondary education that pregnant and parenting students face, include discouragement from teachers and school administrators—and in some cases pressure 

to drop out or attend an inferior alternative program; policies that penalize them 

for pregnancy-related absences and do not allow them to make up missed work; denial of access to homebound instruction when absent for an extended period due to 

pregnancy or childbirth; and dismissal from participation in extracurricular activities or eligibility for school honors. All of these barriers violate title IX and push 

pregnant and parenting students out of school, particularly in light of the other difficulties they face finding and paying for child care, accessing safe and affordable 

transportation to and from school and their child care facility with an infant or 

small child, and juggling schoolwork, parenthood, and even a job. 

Title IX can and should play a vital role in ensuring that our most vulnerable 

students meet their educational goals. The dropout statistics for pregnant and parenting students are stark: only about 50 percent of teen mothers get a high school 

diploma by age 22, compared with 89 percent who do not have a child during their 
55 

teen years. One-third of teen mothers never get a G.E.D. or a diploma. And the children of dropouts are more likely to drop out themselves. But research data demonstrate that when pregnant teens are given support to stay in school, their high 

school graduation rates rise. 

On the 40th anniversary of title IX, equal opportunities and educational support 

for pregnant and parenting students should be a priority for Federal policymakers. 

The Center’s report is part of its larger campaign to address discrimination against 

pregnant and parenting students and schools’ diminished expectations of them. A 

Pregnancy Test for Schools offers concrete solutions for policymakers to address the 

needs of pregnant and parenting students so our country can reap the benefit of 

these students’ talents and skills. 

We look forward to working with you to ensure that all of our Nation’s children 

have equal opportunities to learn and achieve economic security. If you have any 

questions, please feel free to call Fatima Goss Graves or Lara S. Kaufmann at 202– 

588–5180. 

Sincerely, 

FATIMA GOSS GRAVES, 

Vice President for Education & Employment. 

RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS OF SENATOR ENZI AND SENATOR MURRAY

BY BILLIE JEAN KING

SENATOR ENZI

Question 1. As each of you have discussed, title IX has had a profound impact 

over the past 40 years and has helped open up opportunities for millions of women. 

With that in mind, what more needs to be done? In what ways has title IX not 

achieved its goals? Where are we still failing in our efforts to provide equal access 

to women and girls in education? 

Answer 1. Enforcement. Currently schools can offer wildly skewed sports opportunities because there is no oversight by the Government, the NCAA or other athletic 

associations. Unless a teenager or young adult is willing to either file a complaint 

with the OCR or file a lawsuit in Federal court, schools are structuring their athletic departments according to their own perceptions of suitable sports offerings for 

boys and girls. 

Currently, the OCR is only reviewing schools one at a time for compliance after 

a complaint, and only focusing on the discrepancies mentioned in the complaint. Because of the well-known, widespread gender-equity issues in athletics, the OCR 

should instead be reviewing entire States or school districts for compliance. Moreover, these reviews should not focus on one area of compliance, like facilities or 

equipment, but should focus on the entire athletics department: participation, treatment and scholarships, if applicable. 

Some issues need to be addressed, but title IX may not be the correct remedy. 

While title IX has increased the numbers of girls able to participate in and enjoy 

the benefits of sports in school, its impact has been in comparing the number and 

quality of opportunities offered to boys. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help us reach girls 

in schools and communities that have limited resources, where sports programs for 

both girls and boys are either reduced or eliminated due to budget constraints. This 

means girls in underserved communities, especially dense urban environments and 

rural areas, aren’t able to participate at the same levels as girls in areas of higher 

income, such as suburban communities. We have to address these inadequacies to 

ensure all girls can benefit from sports, from the positive health outcomes to increased self-confidence and success as an alternative to risky behaviors. 

Question 2. What advice would each of you give to today’s generation of young 

women? 

Answer 2. Pressure is a privilege. It’s important to step up to the challenges we 

face and overcome them for ourselves and others. Sometimes pressure will take you 

out of your comfort zone. There will likely be setbacks, but if we make the effort, 

then even ‘‘failure’’ becomes a learning point to help achieve success in our next efforts. And ask for help. 

Asking for help is a simple element in embracing and working with pressure. Find 

a mentor, a counselor, a good friend, or therapist to help you achieve success. These 

people can offer feedback and ideas to help you approach your challenge, and you’ll 

find that many people want to help. 

The moments of great pressure in your life are borne out of the importance of the 

situation. It is a privilege to have opportunities, to be trusted to lead a team, to 
56 

be asked to head a project, to love someone or be loved—and if you can see it that 

way, you can handle almost anything with calm and grace. 

It is our hope that many of the students will take it upon themselves to make 

sure their school is treating boys and girls equally in athletics, and all other aspects 

of the school. They can get started here, ‘‘Step by Step: A Practical Guide for Achieving Gender Equity in School Sports’’: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/ 

home/athletes/for-athletes/know-your-rights/parent-resources/step-by-step-guideschool-sports. If they have any questions, they can call the Women’s Sports Foundation at 1– 

800–227–3988, or e-mail at: Advocacy@WomensSportsFoundation.org. 

Question 3. Besides title IX what other effective steps have institutions and States 

been taking to improve educational opportunities for women? 

Answer 3. I applaud the school districts that have put physical education and 

physical activity back into the curriculum for their students, because sound minds 

need sound bodies for both boys and girls. Due to funding constraints, many school 

districts do not offer quality PE and many have been cutting after-school sports; 

however, schools are now looking to partner with community-based organizations to 

return physical activity to the school environment. The Women’s Sports Foundation’s GoGirlGo! program is a strong example of getting girls in underserved communities the right attention and direction they need to learn how to be physically 

active, through a sports-based curriculum which also shares life lessons on how to 

cope with the stress factors girls face. Through GoGirlGo! and similar communitybased programs, girls are able to overcome stereotypes, bullying, drugs, peer pressure, and other negative influences to become confident and successful students, 

greatly enhancing their success rates as adults. 

Several States have passed their own version of the High School Data Transparency Act. Pennsylvania is the most recent State to have adopted this law, along 

with New Mexico, Kentucky and Georgia. http://womenslawproject.wordpress.com/ 

2012/07/03/victory-for-womens-athletic-equity-pa-high-school-disclosure-bill-passes 

/. 

SENATOR MURRAY

Question 1. In your testimony, you indicated that girls have 1.3 million fewer 

chances to play sports in high school than boys. While colleges are required to report 

data on gender equity in sports, there is no such requirement for high schools. In 

what ways does this lack of data and transparency make it more difficult to ensure 

fairness in athletic opportunities at the high school level? 

Answer 1. The Women’s Sports Foundation is fully supportive of your bill, the 

High School Data Transparency Act. Each year we carry the message to all of Congress during National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the first Wednesday of each 

February. 

Knowledge is power. Schools regularly report to the Women’s Sports Foundation 

that they do not know if they are in compliance with title IX or not. 

A reporting requirement would make it clear that schools were offering girls lopsided athletics opportunities. 

Question 2. Research indicates that access to sports has a positive impact on girls, 

yet we have no ongoing Federal data collection on equality of access to, funding for, 

and quality of girls’ organized sports in the middle or high school. The High School 

Data Transparency Act of 2011, would require schools to report this information. 

What effects would the increased transparency and data have on your work at the 

Women’s Sports Foundation? 

Answer 2. The Women’s Sports Foundation could use this data to advance our efforts toward equality in a number of ways. The Women’s Sports Foundation and the 

University of Michigan have teamed up to establish the Women’s Sports, Health 

and Activity Research and Policy Center (SHARP). Goals include supporting evidence-based public debates and policies that help eliminate obstacles girls and 

women face in sports participation. Without the data, there can be no research to 

study the effect on low-income girls or girls of color, how their health, employment 

and educational trajectory may be changed by playing a sport. 

RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS OF SENATOR ENZI AND SENATOR MURRAY

BY REAR ADMIRAL SANDRA L. STOSZ

SENATOR ENZI

Question 1. As each of you have discussed, title IX has had a profound impact 

over the past 40 years and has helped open up opportunities for millions of women. 
57 

With that in mind, what more needs to be done? In what ways has title IX not 

achieved its goals? Where are we still failing in our efforts to provide equal access 

to women and girls in education? 

Answer 1. In the past year within Athletics Division at the U.S. Coast Guard 

Academy, we have formed a Council on Women’s Sports in our department—led by 

the senior woman administrator and composed of our faculty athletic representative, 

assistant athletic director for facilities and head coaches of women’s varsity NCAA 

teams. The Council meets three times annually to discuss issues currently faced by 

our women’s sports programs, and to help guarantee that gender equity is always 

at the forefront of our strategic planning processes. 

Question 2. What advice would each of you give to today’s generation of young 

women? 

Answer 2. At the Coast Guard Academy, the 1,000 member corps of cadets is comprised of approximately one-third women. Each cadet, regardless of sex, has equal 

access to academic majors and varsity, club, and intramural sports. In addition, 

when cadets graduate with Bachelor of Science degrees and commissions as ensigns 

in the U.S. Coast Guard, every specialty is open to women and men alike, including 

the most challenging operational specialties such as aviation and surface operations 

(assignments to pilot aircraft and to command ships and other operational units). 

My advice to today’s generation of cadets, specifically our women cadets, is to 

seize every opportunity and take these tough, challenging assignments that stretch 

a person beyond their comfort zone. Young women and young men will develop the 

confidence they need to succeed in their personal and professional lives if they reach 

for every opportunity, find their passion, work hard and persevere to achieve their 

goals and finally, believe in themselves and their personal choices. 

Question. 3 Besides title IX what other effective steps have institutions and States 

been taking to improve educational opportunities for women? 

Answer 3. At the Coast Guard Academy the keys to our success have included 

our intense focus on providing strong female role models within the professoriate 

(military and civilian) and becoming more involved in generating interest in grades 

five through eight, where the mathematics and science preparation and interest are 

at a critical crossroad, particularly for young girls. The Academy also continuously 

reinforces the ‘‘growth mind set’ as a necessary characteristic of a leader for our 

Service. As a result, all cadets become very involved in developing professional skills 

that greatly complement science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) 

related skills. Success in developing and applying these skills promotes confidence 

in one’s ability to think critically and solve complex problems. 

We have made great progress in motivating young women to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees. In 2011, the Coast Guard 

Academy was recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the ‘‘Top Ten Colleges for 

Women in STEM’’ because of our level of representation by women in those educational fields. http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/2487/1008971/ 

For example, a Deepwater Horizon-like oil spill or an earthquake in Haiti create 

tremendous technical challenges in mitigating the damage to societies and ecosystems. Tragic events such as these offer case studies in which cadets can participate in the development of real-life solutions to real-life problems. How fast is the 

oil plume moving? What is the flow rate? How much oil is left in the water? What 

is the probability of a disease outbreak? These are all questions that are addressed 

within the context of our curriculum at the Academy. 

SENATOR MURRAY

Question. As Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, what steps have 

you taken to increase access for women to the academy and graduation rates of 

women at the academy? 

Answer. The Coast Guard Academy is committed by its ‘‘Build a Community of 

Inclusion’’ strategy to actualize the educational potential and retention opportunities 

that having a critical mass of women and underrepresented minorities offer. The 

Academy is confident that simultaneously increasing the number of women faculty, 

coaches, and staff will positively affect the retention and quality of experience 

women cadets will have in their educational and professional experience. We are 

also confident that diversifying our curriculum will further enhance the experience 

for women in a positive manner. 

Two years ago the first ever Gender and Race in the Military course was developed in the Humanities Department, allowing for a theoretical and experiential educational opportunity that became the genesis for the now active cadet Women’s 

Leadership Council. Women comprise 28 percent of our current faculty, which has 
58 

allowed for greater mentoring and professional development. This has resulted in 

the creation of the cadet Women’s Leadership Council, which has significant faculty, 

senior, and junior women officers heavily involved in professional development and 

mentorship opportunities. 

Our aspirational goals are to continue to increase the number of women at all levels in the organization, based on the mentorship and professional development contact doctrine. We are in the process of developing an Equity Scorecard to track complex inter-relational aspects of the cadet experience that impact retention based on 

demographics, to ensure all groups are graduating in equitable proportions. In general, longitudinal data since 2009 shows that there is relatively little statistical difference in retention and graduation rates for women at the Academy. 

Retention and Graduation Rates by Gender: Classes 2002 to Present 1

CGA Cadet class year 

(In percent) 

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 

Graduated ................... 60 59 64 75 72 77 72 74 77 85 77 

Female .................... 58 60 72 75 71 81 75 77 69 85 76 

Male ........................ 61 58 61 74 72 75 71 73 79 84 77 

1 Graduation percentages are as of July 5, 2012 and include extended opportunity graduates. 

[Whereupon, at 11:50 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

Æ