Title IX was passed to end gender inequity in universities and other places that receive public money. People disagree about what it means. What does it mean to give adequate support to both genders? What does proportionate representation mean? If more men than women play sports at a public university, is this disproportionate representation automatically a violation of Title IX? Or is it only a violation if female athletes are being denied a chance to play? At some colleges, some men’s teams were cut so that resources could be given to new women’s teams. Some people argue that men’s and women’s interest level should be considered. If fewer women than men want to play sports, they say, then it should be okay to have fewer women’s teams.

The problems below illustrate two different ways to think about proportionate representation. In Option 1, a school thinks in terms of numbers. In Option 2, a school thinks in terms of interest level.

Option 1:

At University X, the student body consists of 8,000 men and 8,500 women. Three hundred men play a varsity sport. This is 3.75% of male students. If a proportional number of women participate in varsity sports at University X, how many female varsity athletes are there?

A. 300

B. 310

C. 319

D. 331

Option 2:

To be in compliance with Title IX, schools have to show progress towards equity. At University Y, the student body consists of 10,000 men and 10,000 women. Five hundred men and 150 women play varsity sports. A poll of the student body showed that twice as many men as women are interested in playing sports. Therefore, the athletic department wants to increase the number of female athletes by 20% each year until there are at least 250 female athletes. How many years will it take?