Chairman Hinojosa Statement At Hearing On "Building on the Success of 35 Years of Title IX"

Statement

Chairman Hinojosa Statement At Hearing On "Building on the Success of 35 Years of Title IX"

Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX), chairman of the House Subcommittee On Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness, for a subcommittee hearing on "Building on the Success of 35 Years of Title IX."
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In 1972, Congresswoman Patsy Mink of Hawaii introduced a simple legislative proposal stating 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." With the passage of Title IX, now known as the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, a new era of opportunity was ushered in for women and girls in America. Title IX ended the days of women being denied admission into academic programs based on their gender.

In 1972, just as Title IX was enacted, women earned merely 28 percent of the bachelor's degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics - better known as the STEM fields. Today, women earn 49.2 percent of the bachelor's degrees in these fields. Title IX shattered the myth that women and girls were not interested in competing in interscholastic athletics. Since the enactment of Title IX, the number of women participating in intercollegiate athletics has increased five-fold. The number of female high school athletes has grown by almost 900 percent. As athletic opportunities for women have increased, their interest has soared. Our professional women's sports leagues are the by-product of the doors that were opened by Title IX. Despite theses successes, we still have work to do to achieve the promise of full equality and freedom from discrimination that is at the heart of Title IX. There are still gaps in support for women's athletics, gaps in participation in various disciplines in the STEM fields, and disparities in career and technical education programs. More critically, there is still much to be done to ensure that our educational institutions are free from sexual harassment.

We have seen on-going efforts to undermine the protections of Title IX through regulation or through litigation. Over the course of the last 35 years, we have learned that we can never take equal opportunity for granted. As we celebrate the success of Title IX, we also must look to the future and the work that remains to be done. I would like to thank our witnesses for joining us today. We are eager to hear your views and recommendations about how Title IX can strengthen opportunities for the next generation of women and girls in our schools and on our campuses throughout the nation.

Thank you for joining us today. I would now like to yield to my colleague from Florida, the ranking member, Mr. Ric Keller for his opening statement.

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