How women have fared as interscholastic athletic administrators since the passage of Title IX

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess how well women have fared under Title IX at the interscholastic level, not as participants or coaches, but beyond the playing field into the offices of the athletic director. Demographic data were collected pertaining to the gender of members who belong to state high school athletic director associations identified by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA). An analysis of the gender composition of those state organizations showed that significantly (p < .05) fewer women (13 % ) than men (87 % ) held interscholastic athletic administrator positions. Additional analyses showed that there were state as well as regional differences in the percentage of women serving as interscholastic athletic directors. The findings demonstrate that although women have made extensive gains on the playing field as participants, they have been denied access to the positions of power within interscholastic athletics. Remedies and the potential effects of this segregation on girls and women, beyond the playing field, are also discussed.