High school boys and girls both made gains in the number of athletic opportunities made available to them over this past decade, but boys saw a larger share of those gains, according to a new report by the Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Center for Women and Girls.
“The Decade of Decline: Gender Equity in High School Sports” uses data from both the U.S. Department of Education’s office for civil rights and the National Center on Education Statistics to determine how high school girls’ athletic opportunities compared with boys’ from the 1999-2000 school year through 2009-10.
Athletic opportunities expanded for high-school-aged females over that time span. Schools went from offering 32 athletic opportunities per 100 girls in the 1999-2000 school year to 41 in the 2009-10 school year, the report found.
Boys’ athletic options only expanded further. Schools offered 43 athletic opportunities for every 100 boys in the 1999-2000 school year, and 53 by the 2009-10 school year.
By 2009-10, boys still received more athletic opportunities in all types of communities, according to the report.
