Confirmed: Biden’s Pick for Education Secretary Will Not Enforce Title IX
On Wednesday afternoon, Senator Rand Paul questioned President Biden's nominee for education secretary, Dr. Miguel Cardona, on whether or not he supports enforcing Title IX regulations that protect athletic opportunities for women and girls. The response from Dr. Cardona is a disappointment, although not a surprise, to feminists who have been fighting to maintain women’s single-sex sports and the educational opportunities they provide.
Referencing a memo released by the Office for Civil Rights in January which reaffirms that women and girls have a right to single-sex sports in educational institutions that receive federal funding, Sen. Paul asked of Cardona, “If you’re confirmed, will you enforce that Office of Civil Rights opinion?”
Cardona stated that “it is critically important that education systems and educators respect the rights of all students, including students who are transgender.”
Despite repeated questioning, the incoming education secretary simply refused to answer whether or not he had a problem with boys running on girls’ track teams and taking their scholarships.
Sen. Paul argued that “most people think [boys competing in girls’ athletics] is bizarre.” He’s right. National polling conducted by WoLF in October of 2020 found that the majority of voters of all parties (66.96 percent) state that men or boys should not be permitted to compete in women and girls’ athletics, regardless of how they self-identify. Less than one-third of Democrats even support these policies.
Senator Mitt Romney later echoed Paul’s concerns, stating that “girls should be competing with girls and boys should be competing with boys on the athletic field.
As a feminist organization, WoLF is deeply concerned that the incoming education secretary does not appear to support girls’ equal right to educational opportunities.
Athletics can play a powerful role in equity. The UN recognized women’s sports as an important tool for the empowerment of women and girls. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women, wrote in April of 2019:
“Sport can be one of the great drivers of gender equality, by teaching women and girls the values of teamwork, self-reliance and resilience. It can provide girls with social connections and a refuge from violence in their homes and communities, and help them to understand their bodies and build confidence and the ability to speak up, particularly during adolescence, when the pressure to conform to traditionally “feminine” stereotypes leads many girls to abandon sport entirely.”
Yet, by allowing biological males to compete with and against women and girls, these goals are being undermined. The website boysvswomen.com points out that world-class female athletes, including Olympians, would lose in a head-to-head competition against high school boys.
source: http://boysvswomen.com
WoLF stands with the women and girls across the country who are fighting to protect their sports in the face of unprecedented attacks on Title IX under the new administration.