Title IX Enforcement Needed
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 11/7/2002
In October, Senator Wyden (D-Ore.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space, held a hearing on Title IX enforcement for Math, Science and Engineering Education. Senator Wyden called for the stronger enforcement of Title IX in these fields and pledged to help "triple the number of women graduating in those fields. Title IX is usually thought to apply only to athletics but it actually is the law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in the general realm of education.Six witnesses testified, including the author of Title IX, former Senator Birch Bayh (D-Ind.), Marcia D. Greenberger, the Co-President of National Women's Law Center, and C. Todd Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Education (OCR).
Greenberger pointed out that women, though making remarkable progress in pursuing college degrees, are still underrepresented in Math, Science and Engineering. She underlined the fact by citing the amazing decrease in number of women receiving bachelor's degrees in computer and information sciences. The number reached a high of 37 % in 1984 but dropped to 28 % in 1999-2000.
She also noted "the most disturbing disparity [which] lies in engineering, where women receive only 18 % of bachelor degrees, 21 % of master degrees and 15 % of doctorate degrees." Greenberger, along with the other witness in the hearing, noted that Title IX oversight is critical in eliminating barriers for women in so-called "hard sciences."
Above all else, compliance reviews and enforcement measures are needed to ensure that schools and programs are meeting their obligations under the law.
To the chagrin of the women's rights advocates, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office for Civil Rights admitted under persistent questioning by Senator Wyden that the OCR hasn't compiled the compliance reviews since January 2001, when the Bush Administration took office.
