An outisder's perspective on Title IX and collegiate athletics

In the article Canadian Athletic Directors’ Perceptions of the Potential for U.S. Title IX Gender Equity Policy, the authors explored through a survey of the athletic directors of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport the implications of adopting a similar policy as the United States’ Title IX for gender equity. The CIS is Canada’s governing board for its intercollegiate athletics program and 50 institutions are members.

Much like the U.S., Canada is struggling with gender equity in collegiate athletics. The difference is, as stated in the article, the Title IX portion of the Education Amendments implemented into U.S. legislation in 1972 has been in effect for decades while Canadians have not implemented an official policy on gender equity.

The article explores the history and background of Title IX in the U.S. and explores the effects of a similar policy on the CIS. A referenced study in the article by S.W. Gray in 2004 searched the changes from 2001 to 2003 in U.S. NCAA Division I schools through a survey of Senior Woman’s Administrators. The survey reflected that the change or perceived need for change was dependant upon the respective athletic director’s views and ambitions for gender equity.

As a result of this finding, the authors of this article and study, Dean M Beaubier, Shannon A. Gadbois and Sheldon L. Stick, lobbied the 50 athletic directors of the CIS. The survey had 37 participants out of 50, and the team pieced together a 26-question survey to answer three research questions. Would the A.D.’s from CIS would welcome a similar regulations implicated in the U.S.’ Title IX? Would Canadian A.D.’s think they would experience the same difficulties that U.S. athletic departments had with Title IX? And, would A.D.’s with extensive experience in their jobs be open to such changes for gender equity?

There were many variables to the findings of the survey, however in the end it appeared that the athletic directors from the CIS were in favor of moving towards gender equity, however, many felt that the implications of Title IX from the U.S. would present difficulties in Canada that don’t exist in the U.S. The article also said that because of the perceived discrepancies among the Canadian A.D.’s that a lethargic implementation of a Title IX-like policy “would become further complicated if flawed gender equity strategies were implemented.”

Due to the findings and the apparent reluctance of the CIS athletic directors, particularly those with extensive experience in the field, the authors suggest that further research and qualitative interviews with A.D.’s should be conducted in order that a proper gender equity policy is set for Canada.

Without knowing the culture of Canada it would be hard to evaluate the athletic administrators' reluctance to Title IX. However, this study is a step in the right direction to determine the best policy for their country. Even though the Title IX policy has been in affect for 37 years in the United States, institutions in the country still struggle with gender equity on a regular basis.

Maybe with further study on this matter, our Canadian counterparts may achieve a policy that we all could learn from. Those interested in gender equity should read this article and U.S. collegiate athletic administrators should read this article to get a sense of what outsiders think are the strengths and weaknesses of Title IX policies as they pertain to intercollegiate athletics.

-- Kyle Robarts

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Beaubier, D. M., Gadbois, S. A., & Stick, S. L. (2008). Canadian Athletic Directors' Perceptions of the Potential for U.S. Title IX Gender Equity Policy. Journal of Issues In Intercollegiate Athletics, 2(1), 46-73.

Link to full-text article