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WHEREAS, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is the first comprehensive law prohibiting discrimination based on sex in all programs or activities of educational institutions that receive federal financial assistance; and,
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WHEREAS, Congresswoman Patsy Mink of Hawaii, Congresswoman Edith Green of Oregon, Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana, and their teams took pivotal leadership roles in drafting and introducing a bill that contained provisions for gender equity in education; and,
WHEREAS, Title IX is modeled after Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark law that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in federally funded programs; and,
WHEREAS, soon after the Civil Rights Act was passed, Congress recognized that sex discrimination in education programs also necessitated federal legislation to protect all students, boys and girls, faculty, and staff; and,
WHEREAS, Title IX originates from a 37-word statute and has grown into a body of inclusive laws pertaining to "interpretations" and “clarifications” serving to protect individual citizens and avoid the use of federal funding to support discriminatory practices; and,
WHEREAS, Title IX facilitated rapid increases in the percentages of women attending and completing both undergraduate and graduate programs; and,
WHEREAS, the legal protections afforded by Title IX have granted female students the right to hold perpetrators of sexual and gender-based misconduct accountable and promote safe, healthy learning environments for all students; and,
WHEREAS, according to the NCAA, the number of women’s teams rose by 125% and female participation in collegiate
sports has increased by 195% from 1982 to 2021; and,
WHEREAS, as of 2016, research from EY shows that among senior business women in the C-suite, 94 % played sports and over half played at a university level, suggesting a correlation between success in sports and their success in business; and,
WHEREAS, the Department of Education under the Biden Administration has sought to extend Title IX prohibition of sex discrimination to transgender students and athletes; and,
WHEREAS, The Pittsburgh City Council supports transgender inclusion within schools and, to that effect, passed a Will of Council denouncing Bill 972, to prevent any attempt to exclude transgender students from competing in sports; and,
WHEREAS, collegiate transgender athletes such as the swimmer Lia Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania, E Kerr, a former athlete and now softball manager at the University of Scranton, and other athletes are guaranteed the accessible resources to participate in sports; and,
WHEREAS, the Pittsburgh region has produced women’s sports stars like Meghan Klingenberg and Swin Cash as well as countless other people who have contributed to women’s sports in the region, state, and national level.
NOW THEREFORE IT BE RESOLVED, the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby celebrate June 23, 2022, to be the 50th anniversary of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; we see this involvement to be a commitment to increase the opportunities for all citizens and are excited for continuous growth.