UMD-Post Poll Finds Most Americans Support Greater Gender Equity in Sports

According to new insights published in The Washington Post from its latest poll with the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement (CDCE) and the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism's Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism, 85% of Americans believe colleges and universities should be required to award an equal number of athletic scholarships to women and to men.

Title IX, the federal law that relatedly prohibits a school receiving federal funding from discriminating against someone based on their sex, does not technically require colleges and universities to ensure equality between the number of sports scholarships awarded to males versus females. Two-thirds of Americans admit they know "not much" or "nothing at all" about that now 50-year-old mandate, which University of Maryland alumna Bernice “Bunny” Sandler Ed.D. ’69, helped create, pass and defend. 

“The lack of knowledge about Title IX raises a number of concerns. This almost surely means that violations are underreported and that parents and students won’t know the process for reporting violations and ensuring they are corrected,” said Mike Hanmer, GVPT professor and CDCE research director. “I’ve been encouraged to see that the 50-year anniversary of this important law has led to more attention, including from our campus via this survey and other work.” 

The May 4-May 17 poll of 1,503 adults also found that more women (66%) than men (44%) said they “strongly” support such an equal distribution of sports scholarships.

“Even fifty years after Title IX, it is clear that a lot of work still needs to be done to educate the public about the law’s purpose and its substantive effects,” said Stella Rouse, CDCE Director. “While there is broad support for the law’s general principle of nondiscrimination, what this means in practice remains elusive to the majority of Americans.”  

About the CDCE and the Shirley Povich Center 

The CDCE educates, informs, and engages citizens and scholars in order to improve democratic governance. CDCE does so by partnering with organizations like The Washington Post to bridge the gap between academic research and practical solutions to problems related to the role of government and its citizens as equal partners.

The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism prepares students to be innovators and leaders in all facets of sports media. The center's unique, experiential curriculum and public programs elevate and amplify discussion of race, gender, politics and the world—just as Shirley Povich did each morning in The Washington Post.

Photo by iStock.

Published on Fri, Jun 24, 2022 - 9:29AM