A generation of women athletes had reason to cheer recently as Title IX turned 30.
Title IX–the 1972 federal law that requires schools to give men and women equal athletic opportunities–has had a major impact on the lives of girls and women, both on and off the field.
“We’ve gone from young girls hoping that there is a team to young girls hoping that they make the team,” says Mary Jo Kane, professor of sports sociology and director of the University of Minnesota’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport. “The post-Title-IX generation of girls has grown up with a sense of entitlement about sports.”
That parallels women’s evolution in the workplace. Women now feel fully entitled to compete on the same professional playing field as men.
And if they have played sports, they also have learned lessons that help them succeed on the job. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation in East Meadow, N.Y., rules in sports are similar to rules in organizations, and are key for women to know.
Sharon Nelson, 26, a tax attorney at Foley & Lardner, says she often calls on the mental skills she honed as a college athlete. Nelson earned her bachelor’s degree at Loyola University with the help of a track and academic scholarship. In 2001, she graduated from law school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
“I would not be where I am now without running,” she says. “Not only did it pay my [tuition] costs, it gave me confidence, discipline, and helped me prioritize.”
Just as rigorous training helped quell her nerves before a track event, solid preparation now helps her stay calm before court or client meetings. “If you’re prepared, there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m not immune to self-doubt, but I can deal with it.”
Deborah Rosado Shaw, entrepreneur, author and speaker, says an important advantage that comes from playing sports is the ability to be part of a team as well as to get along with a coach, which often foreshadows a woman’s relationship with a mentor. She says younger women who have played sports are more pliable and open to hearing what a mentor has to say.
Nelson is a perfect example. “Our coaches were great,” she says, “but we got yelled at if we weren’t making the times. There were many times I wanted to quit but I couldn’t [because it was paying for her education]. But I learned to take the yelling with a grain of salt and realize they are trying to help you, to teach you. It also gets you in the mindset of doing what you’re asked to do, of `I’m not going to let the coach or the team down.'”
Despite stories like Nelson’s, some observers say that equipping women with these skills goes only so far.
“Title IX is absolutely important but it’s not enough,” says Sumru Erkut, an associate director and senior scientist at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College. “It’s not the silver bullet.”
For example, while athletes are encouraged to bounce back after a setback, Erkut says the freedom to make and learn from mistakes is really not allowed to women and people of color in the workplace, even if they come in with the skills to bounce back.
“Organizations are much more forgiving of white men making mistakes and learning from them,” she says. “It’s part of `you have to be twice as good to be good enough.'”
Patricia Farrell, psychologist and corporate consultant, points out that while women are translating lessons from the playing field to the office, they still lag behind men who have been doing that for generations.
Often, women don’t get access to male social circles, where, she says, “the real comfort and rapport is established.”
“It doesn’t matter what attitude they [young women] come in with,” she says. “The old boys network is still going to push men, and the guys protect the guys. . . . It’s an unspoken attitude that plays out in bonuses, promotions and opportunities.”
Shaw says the old boys network isn’t going to go away, so women have to play by the rules but also learn to play strategically beyond them.
For instance, she advises women to develop subtle strategies to make people aware of their latest accomplishments. “There isn’t a successful woman I know who hasn’t done that,” she says.
Nelson is optimistic about women’s ability to climb the ladder because her track experience showed her that women can be both competitive and supportive.
“You weren’t jealous if a friend [on your team] won,” she says.
———-
E-mail: jfitzgerald@tribune.com
