Gender Policy Feedback: Perceptions of Sex Equity, Title IX, and Political Mobilization among College Athletes

• Date: 01 September 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/1065912917753078
• Published date: 01 September 2018
• Author: Jacob E. Rothschild,James N. Druckman,Elizabeth A. Sharrow
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912917753078

Political Research Quarterly

2018, Vol. 71(3) 642 –653

© 2018 University of Utah

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DOI: 10.1177/1065912917753078

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Article

What do citizens think about public policies that affect

them? Political scientists have addressed this founda-

tional question when it comes to an array of policies

including Social Security (Campbell 2003), the

Affordable Care Act (Jacobs and Mettler, forthcoming;

Lerman and McCabe 2017), welfare reform (Soss and

Schram 2007), and the G.I. Bill (Mettler 2002). Yet, vir-

tually no work explores citizens’ reactions to one of the

most discussed pieces of sex non-discrimination policy in

U.S. history—Title IX of the Education Amendments of

1972. We extend work on “policy feedback” into this

domain of U.S. civil rights policy. We offer a theory about

perceptions of sex inequities among one of Title IX’s

most affected populations: college student-athletes. We

assess our hypotheses with a survey of student-athletes

from a major athletic conference.

We find that college student-athletes—particularly

women and those who believe sex discrimination in soci-

ety persists—perceive significant gender biases in col-

lege athletics. These student-athletes also support

redistribution of athletic resources to address extant

inequalities and are willing to take political action (i.e.,

writing letters, signing petitions, or attending protests) to

address the issue. The results reveal that, from the per-

spective of student-athletes, the implementation of Title

IX has not yet produced the policy’s aim of eliminating

sex-based discrimination. The Act may have established

expectations of equality for women and men in educa-

tional institutions, but its implementation has inculcated

perceptions of gender inequality within college athletics.

The findings accentuate a possible representation conun-

drum inherent to the contemporary politics of Title IX

such that those most affected by the policy are not the

constituents to whom policy makers and college leaders

fully respond.1

Title IX, Opinions about Sex

Inequities, and Policy Feedback

Passed by the U.S. Congress on June 23, 1972, in an

omnibus bill to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title

IX states, “No person shall, on the basis of sex, be

excluded from participation in, denied benefits of, or be

753078PRQXXX10.1177/1065912917753078Political Research QuarterlyDruckman et al.

research-article2018

1Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

2University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

Corresponding Author:

James N. Druckman, Department of Political Science, Northwestern

University, 601 University Place, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.

Email: druckman@northwestern.edu

Gender Policy Feedback: Perceptions

of Sex Equity, Title IX, and Political

Mobilization among College Athletes

James N. Druckman1, Jacob E. Rothschild1, and Elizabeth A. Sharrow2

Abstract

Public policies invariably confer or deny benefits to particular citizens. How citizens respond to relevant policies has

fundamental implications for democratic responsiveness. We study the beliefs of a core constituency of one of the

most celebrated sex non-discrimination policies in U.S. history: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Using

a novel survey of college student-athletes, we find strong support for the spirit of the policy, with the vast majority of

respondents reporting the opinion that there “should” be equity. Concurrently, student-athletes also perceive mal-

distribution among status quo resources and opportunities and believe that redistribution is needed. Furthermore, they

are willing to take political action to improve equality. Consistent with our expectations, these beliefs are particularly

salient for women and those who perceive persistent sex discrimination in society. Our results reveal “positive policy

feedback” among policy beneficiaries of Title IX who mobilize to seek equity in athletics. The dissatisfaction among

policy beneficiaries raises questions about democratic responsiveness (e.g., to whom are policymakers and leaders in

college athletics responding?) and highlights the political nature of college athletics.

Keywords

policy feedback, Title IX, public opinion, gender politics, sports politics