Girls playing sports attain higher levels of education, are healthier and earn higher wages as adults, compared to non-athlete peers.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ADOBE STOCK
EQUITY
Getting Girls and Women Into the Game for a Lifetime of Success By Kim Turner
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ebruary 2, 2022 marks National Girls and Women in Sports Day — an ideal kick-off point for the 50th anniversary of Title IX on June 23, 2022, the federal law prohibiting gender discrimination in publicly-funded school and college sports programs. Title IX has opened athletics doors to millions of girls and women over the past five decades. Similarly, park and recreation agencies can work on and celebrate engaging girls and women in sports and physical activity during these events and each day of the year. Girls playing sports attain higher levels of education, are healthier mentally and physically, and even earn higher wages as adults, compared to non-athlete peers (tinyurl. com/2mehjh8v). Girls and women of color, in particular, experience big lifelong dividends from sports play, and yet too often have the least opportunity and equity in programming. Thus, focusing on engaging girls and women of col-
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Parks & Recreation
or, especially in low-income areas, is key to ensuring everyone can get into and enjoy sports and physical activity for a lifetime. Here are nine ways your agency can instill gender equity in youth athletics during this Title IX anniversary: Ask girls what’s needed. Ask girls, their leagues, their families and their coaches what they would like to see in youth athletics. Sim-
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ple no-cost surveys and quick conversations with stakeholders can yield critical information, such as the sports girls want to play. Find out whether girls are getting to play what they like and getting equitable access to facilities and support. If not, adjust and equalize. Prioritize time and resources for equity. Ensure there is staff time and budget support to afford girls and their teams the facility space they need, coaches to anchor programs, and the publicity and promotion necessary to help spur equity. Sometimes, answers are simple, like more levels of an existing sport (for novices), a buddy registration system for girls wanting to know one teammate, or creative facilities sharing.
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