Forty years ago today, during the Nixon Administration, the Congress passed Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, ending discrimination in all educational institutions based upon gender, and specifically promoting sports competition for women.
This was an important victory for women’s rights, and gave women athletes the opportunity to compete on the same level as men.
In the age of feminism which was emerging, this was an important victory to promote the idea that women were to be treated equally with men under the laws of the United States.
This is an important moment to recall at a time when many Republicans are working to undermine the advancement of women’s rights in many different areas, and explains why women have as a group tended to vote as a majority for Democrats, as more likely to defend and expand their rights in the 21st century!