Observing 40 Years of Title IX

This week marks the 40^th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation that changed the playing field for girls across the nation. With its 37 simple words, Title IX opened up a world of new opportunities ranging from athletic participation to access to education in science, technology, engineering, and math. In the years since the enactment of Title IX, athletic participation has increased over 1000%, creating more confident, empowered, and inspiring women to fuel the innovation and advancement of America. The Obama Administration is dedicated to furthering the 40 years of progress that Title IX has paved for us, from the $4.25 billion Race to the Top competition to close the STEM gap for girls, to honoring hardworking student-athletes like the Texas A&M University Women’s Basketball Team at the White House.

This Wednesday, June 20, the Council on Women and Girls will be hosting an event to mark the 40^th Anniversary of Title IX. Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama & Chair of the Council on Women & Girls, and Tina Tchen, Chief of Staff to the First Lady and Executive Director of the Council on Women and Girls, will be joined by a group of notable advocates and leaders in the field to discuss the past, present, and future effects of Title IX.

To gear up for our celebration, we’ll be hosting a Twitter forum with the National Women’s Law Center on Tuesday, June 19 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Use the hashtag #WHTitleIX to share your thoughts and stories about Title IX.

You can also tune in on Wednesday, June 20 at 2:00 p.m. to obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/live to participate in our event and join the discussion live on Twitter at #WHTitleIX!

 Avra Siegel is the Deputy Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls.