SWE Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Title IX

(Washington, DC—) In anticipation of Title IX’s 50th anniversary on June 23, 2022, the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education (NCWGE) which includes 35 organizations advocating for gender justice in education including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) released a report, “Title IX At 50”. The report takes a look at Title IX’s impact over the last half-century, celebrating the significant progress to end sex discrimination in education while recognizing the work that remains to be done.

The report is divided into nine issue briefs, each of which explains a particular aspect of sex discrimination in education, including: sexual harassment; discriminatory discipline based on sex and race; LGBTQI+ students; pregnant and parenting students; athletics; gender- and race-conscious programs; sex-segregated education; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and career and technical education (CTE); and Title IX Coordinators. The report also traces relevant policy developments over the last 50 years, and offers a range of policy recommendations to address that problem.

“The 50th Anniversary of Title IX provides an excellent opportunity to celebrate hard-won gains.  But for women in STEM, there is still much to do.  Our recent 20-year review of STEM research revealed that women still face enormous barriers to achievement, success, and equity in school and career. This occasion calls for a recommitment to establish a safe and equitable culture in STEM education and the workplace that allows everyone to contribute and succeed,” said Karen Horting, Executive Director and CEO, Society of Women Engineers.

“Despite the tremendous progress toward gender equity in the last 50 years, students today continue to be deprived of their education because of sex discrimination,” said Elizabeth Tang, lead author of the report and senior counsel for education and workplace justice at NWLC. “Schools are not adequately protecting students from sexual harassment, sex- and race-based discipline, and discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or pregnancy or parenting status. Women and girls and LGBTQI+ students continue to face sex discrimination in athletics, in STEM and CTE programs, and in sex-segregated classrooms and schools. And there remains a vital need for gender- and race-conscious affirmative action programs in schools and greater support for Title IX Coordinators.”

The full report can be found here and executive summary here.