March 9, 2022
The Delta Political Forum Series invites the public to attend a virtual political forum on “Lessons of Title IX: The Challenge and Hope of Gender Equality in Public School Athletics” to be held from 7-8:30pm, Tuesday, March 22, on Zoom.
The March 22 political forum will feature a panel of experts to address whether Title IX has lived up to its promise, including how recent developments involving transgender athletes has impacted the playing field. In addition to questions from the moderator, the panel will also field questions from the audience.
The panelists will include Mike Guswiler, head of the West Michigan Sports Commission; Penny Allen-Cook, MIAA Commission and member of the Governor’s Task Force on Women in Sports; and Barbara Klimaszewski, attorney at law. The panel will be moderated by Charissa Urbano, Delta College professor and former collegiate athlete.
Title IX was created in 1972, in part, to guarantee equal access to athletics in public school programs. Before Title IX, just one in 27 girls played sports, a number that has grown to two in five today, according to the Women’s Sports Foundation. While gains over the last nearly 50 years are unquestionable, neither are the inequalities that persist. Those inequalities are the focus of a task force created by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in June of 2019.
“Even with the enactment of Title IX nearly 50 years ago, opportunities for girls and women in sports remain limited and more work remains to fully even the playing field,” the governor’s office wrote in a press release announcing the task force. “Female athletes routinely face lower levels of investment, training resources and safety assurances than their male counterparts. Currently, in Michigan, only one Division 1 athletic program is led by a woman.”
Research conducted in 2020 showed that although women made up nearly half of all college athletes, only 24% of NCAA athletics directors were women. In 2021, only 5 out of 65 Power Five conference athletic directors were women.
“Since 2007, these political forums have helped audiences develop better informed opinions and a greater understanding of the range of solutions and their consequences,” said Political Science Professor Kimberly Klein, one of the event organizers. “In short, we hope to provide the audience with tools to make informed decisions in our democracy.”
This free event can be accessed on Zoom, but registration is required. Go to delta.edu/womeninsports to register. An American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter will be in attendance. For more information, contact Professor Balawender at markbalawender@delta.edu or call 989-750-1537.