What is Title IX?

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.


The U.S. Department of Education gives grants of financial assistance to schools and colleges. The Title IX regulation describes the conduct that violates Title IX. Examples of the types of discrimination that are covered under Title IX include sexual harassment, the failure to provide equal opportunity in athletics, and discrimination based on pregnancy.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Sex Discrimination: Overview of the Law.

Examples of progress towards gender equity since the early 1970s are listed below:

Postsecondary Degrees

• Though women have earned a greater number and percentage of bachelor's and master's degrees overall than men have since the early 1980s, men continue to earn the majority of degrees at the doctoral level.

• Women earned 58 percent of all bachelor's and 60 percent of all master's degrees awarded in 2005–06 (up from 55 and 56 percent, respectively, in 1995–96). During this period, the number of degrees earned by women increased by 33 percent at the bachelor's level (from 642,000 to 855,000) and by 57 percent at the master's level (from 227,000 to 356,000).

• Overall, women earned 49 percent of doctoral degrees awarded in 2005–06 (up from 40 percent in 1995–96). During this period, doctoral degrees earned by women increased by 54 percent (from 17,800 to 27,400).

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). The Condition of Education 2008 (NCES 2008-031), Indicator 27.

Participation in Athletics

• Compared to 2002-03, the proportion of female student-athletes held steady or increased by one percent in all divisions. Division I had the highest proportion of female student athletes. Division I-AAA for the first time reported more than 50 percent of student-athletes as female. (It is important to remember that Division I-AAA schools do not have football teams.). In Division I-A, the proportion of female student-athletes remained steady at 44 percent while in Division I-AA the proportion of female student-athletes increased one percent to 43 percent.

• Comparing the 2003-04 data to the 1991-92 data reveals notable increases in the proportion of female student-athletes. In Division I, the proportion of female student-athletes rose from 31 to 44 percent. In Division I-A, the proportion increased from 29 to 44 percent. In Division I-AA, the change was from 30 to 42 percent in 2002-03, and in Division I-AAA the proportion of female student-athletes increased from 36 to 51 percent. There has been a nine percent increase in the proportion of female student-athletes in Division II (32 to 41 percent) and a seven percent increase in Division III (35 to 42 percent). .

SOURCE: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. (2006). 2003-04 NCAA Gender-Equity Report.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2008, Digest of Education Statistics 2007, Table 177. Enrollment, staff, and degrees conferred in postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV programs, by level and control of institution, sex, and type of degree: Fall 2005 and 2005-06
• 2008, Digest of Education Statistics 2007, Table 258. Degrees conferred by degree-granting institutions, by level of degree and sex of student: Selected years, 1869-70 through 2016-17

Other Resources:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2005, Gender Differences in Participation and Completion of Undergraduate Education and How They Have Changed Over Time
• 2004, Office of Postsecondary Education Equity in Athletics Disclosure Website
• 2004, Trends in Educational Equity of Girls & Women: 2004
• 2000, Entry and Persistence of Women and Minorities in College Science and Engineering Education