Title IX the Federal Civil Rights Law of The United States of America. How Can This Benefit The American Feminist Foreign Policy?

What is Title IX?

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Written by: Alexa Dominique Pascual

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Title IX is part of the Education Amendment of 1972 in the United States. This bill prevents the discrimination of gender in sports and schools which are government funded. This bill prohibits the act of sexual violence and misogyny. This bill gives equal opportunities for females to take part in male-dominated areas. However, this bill only occurs in government-funded sectors leaving private sectors that do not receive federal assistance to have a choice whether to follow the law or not. This leaves students vulnerable to the actions of their male counterparts if ever men make the decision of sexually harassing their female classmates. 

(U.S Department of Education, Sex Discrimination: Overview of the Law, 2022, https://www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/guid/ocr/sexoverview.html)

In this case, privately funded schools should be cautious and should give importance to this matter if ever this issue of assault occurs. This gives the victim injustice, and violates human rights and causes discrimination.  Because of this matter, students should  speak up if something happens to them. In this way, everything will be easily monitored and addressed. Speaking up is the only way to prevent these issues from happening and this is the only way to apprehend the person being accused of such crime. 

How is Title IX being applied to the athletic industry and scholarships?

Title IX gives female athletes the same opportunities as male athletes in sports that are under government-funded educational institutions like the NCAA. The bill also sees to it that female athletes get to take part in male-dominated sports and have the same opportunities as their male counterparts.  Women are as strong as men and women can do the same training as men. This way of thinking should be normalized and should be talked about more often. The more we talk about gender equality, the more people will get educated and the more we can inspire people to create a change. It is upsetting to see that in our day and age, we still see communities treat women as weaker and vulnerable individuals. When  we have worked for years to get away from the stereotypes society placed on us, women. Relating this to scholarship grants, some scholarships promoting women’s empowerment have been canceled or put aside. For example, the award “Davis Scholarship '' at the University of California has been canceled because of its limitation to female students and female athletes. It was thought that it was sexist towards men because men were not included in the scholarship. The Davis Scholarship could have been a step forward in creating a positive change in our society today. But, since it was canceled for the “unfair” treatment of male opportunities, opportunities for women have been wasted.  I find this to be very unfair because for generations men have been more dominant and had more opportunities than women. This gives women less of an importance, and it is clear that the discrimination between gender was observed which needs to be prevented. 

 

According to this article “Women’s scholarships, leadership programs, awards and even gym hours are being eliminated or canceled by universities because they discriminate against men. Complaints are being filed with the Department of Education (DOE) about programs and funding for women at universities across the country, and the DOE is taking action. One of the latest targets is the Marilyn C. Davis scholarship at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC).” (Forbes, “Women’s Scholarships and Awards Eliminated To Be Fair To Men”, (April, 13, 2022), https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2022/04/13/womens-scholarships-and-awards-eliminated-to-be-fair-to-men/?sh=1834c88e7fe2)

 

As you can see, there are still universities who do not respect the practice of women’s rights. The practice of observing gender equality has been an ongoing struggle, yes. But in order to change the perspective of each individual regarding the practice of equality, it will take generations to occur. It is not the fault of our society to think in such a way because in a cultural aspect men were always greater than women. This is something that could not be changed overnight despite the implementation of women’s rights organizations. However, hope is still there to change people's mindsets and to educate them on the importance of women’s rights.  As part of the FY 2024 Budget, the Biden Administration developed policies on the prevention of gender-based violence and the promotion of reproductive rights. These programs aim to give women the freedom of rights to choose what to do with their bodies and to get support when experiencing discrimination and assault. The government is implementing strategies to strengthen the agenda, by adding additional funding for women's rights organizations. By having the additional funding for organizations, gives more resources for women to get justice and support when feeling discriminated or abused. There are still policies that need to be done, in order for it to be accessible to each citizen. Which is why more ideas should be brought to the table for women’s rights to be properly addressed in each state. In order to do that, we must continue to motivate the youth and increase more youth participation on the development of policy. Citizens should know that they are not alone, and that the government will always be there to support them in their daily needs and to protect them from harm. However, change overnight can not be done that is why the continuous effort in implementing new policies has to be done. In order, to create a more prosperous society. 

(The White House, President Biden’s FY 2024 Budget Advances Gender Equity and Equality, 2023)

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The relationship between Title IX and the implementation of policies on gender equality internationally, is that not only does the government protect Americans, but people from other countries as well. As you can see that our government is doing their part on implementing different solutions to prevent misogyny from happening in our world today. It is a challenge to prevent such an act, 

but it is not impossible to create a change just by developing new strategies to eliminate gender based violence and the discrimination against women. Each law and policy is there for the safeguard of the American people and the world. Even with these strategies implemented there are still more work to be done, in order for each policy to flourish. 

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How is the US advancing women’s rights in American Foreign Policy?

The Office of Global Women’s Issues supports foreign assistance programs in more than 60 countries. The program aims to battle sexual assault, discrimination and human rights abuses. The US Department of State was able to advance opportunities for women in developing areas around Africa , Uzbekistan, Yemen and Papua New Guinea.(US Department of State, Empowering Women through U.S. Foreign Policy: A Year in Review, by Katrina Fotovat, 2023)

 As we can see here, American foreign policy has slowly been modernizing and women’s rights is now being given a priority in the agenda. The implementation of the support for women all across the world, is a step forward for a better society and a better future. The prevention of gender discrimination has to keep going, in order for the world to continue its development economically and socially.  That is why the continuous funding of feminist organizations has to keep going, in order for women’s rights to be properly established. USAID donated 200 million in support for gender equality and the economic security of women. This donation benefited the advancement of having more women participate in leadership and the prevention of climate change. It also advanced the prevention of gender based violence, which gave resources to women in nations that are in crisis to get the proper resources for support. The agenda also gave access to women during the pandemic to access high quality child care services and the access to jobs. This not only benefited the person's well-being, but also it benefited their nation's economy because of the implementation of more jobs. The higher the employment , then the better a countries financial stability may be. (USAID, U.S Government Announces Largest- Ever Budget Request, $2.6 Billion, to Advance Gender Equity and Equality Around the World, 2022)

The continuous modernization of American foreign policy has been an ongoing process the Biden Administration plans to establish. It is never too late to improve this world's human rights system. However, in some areas it is beyond the control of the UN, G20 and G7. Some nations do not want to pursue diplomatic relations with the alliance. Instead, members of the alliance like the US, Canada, Germany etc chose to bring in refugees in order to give them the resources to know what it is like to live in a democratic society. Each nation's government structure and laws can not be changed, the only influence organizations can give is to the people themselves. That is why improving people-to-people ties is a must in order for society to develop. That is why the continuous donation and support for organizations is an ongoing project, which the whole G20 and G7 Alliance is working for its development. The alliance aims to  achieve the goal for a more sustainable future, that is why it is important to develop a stronger relationship with out allies and partners. 

 

Notes

 

(Forbes, “Women’s Scholarships and Awards Eliminated To Be Fair To Men”, (April, 13, 2022), https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2022/04/13/womens-scholarships-and-awards-eliminated-to-be-fair-to-men/?sh=1834c88e7fe2)

 

(The White House, President Biden’s FY 2024 Budget Advances Gender Equity and Equality, 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/gpc/briefing-room/2023/03/15/president-bidens-fy-2024-budget-advances-gender-equity-and-equality/)

 

(USAID, U.S Government Announces Largest- Ever Budget Request, $2.6 Billion, to Advance Gender Equity and Equality Around the World, 2022, https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/mar-08-2022-us-government-announces-largest-ever-budget-request-26-billion-advance-gender-equity-and-equality-around-world)

 

(US Department of State, Empowering Women through U.S. Foreign Policy: A Year in Review, by Katrina Fotovat, 2023, https://www.state.gov/empowering-women-through-u-s-foreign-policy-a-year-in-review/#:~:text=The%20Secretary's%20Office%20of%20Global%20Women's%20Issues%20supports%20foreign%20assistance,from%20reaching%20their%20full%20potential.)

 

(U.S Department of Education, Sex Discrimination: Overview of the Law, (July, 12,2022) https://www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/guid/ocr/sexoverview.html)

(Office of Credit Ratings, Staff Report On Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations, (2022), https://www.sec.gov/files/2022-ocr-staff-report.pdf)

(United States Institute of Peace, How to Advance a Feminist U.S. Foreign Policy, Shirley Graham, Ph.D.;  Megan E. Corrado, Esq.(March,8,2021),https://www.usip.org/publications/2021/03/how-advance-feminist-us-foreign-policy)

(Binnall Law Group, ARE PRIVATE COLLEGES SUBJECT TO TITLE IX? OUR EXPERIENCED TITLE 9 LAWYER EXPLAINS, (September, 24, 2021), https://www.binnall.com/insights-news/are-private-colleges-subject-to-title-ix-our-experienced-title-9-lawyer-explains/)