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As Girls Become Women, Sports Pay Dividends

 

By TARA PARKER-POPE Published: February 15, 2010

Almost four decades after the federal education law called Title IX opened the door for girls to participate in high school and college athletics, a crucial question has remained unanswered: Do sports make a long-term difference in a woman’s life?

A large body of research shows that sports are associated with all sorts of benefits, like lower teenage pregnancy rates, better grades and higher self-esteem. But until now, no one has determined whether those improvements are a direct result of athletic participation. It may be that the type of girl who is attracted to sports already has the social, personal and physical qualities — like ambition, strength and supportive parents — that will help her succeed in life.

Now, separate studies from two economists offer some answers, providing the strongest evidence yet that team sports can result in lifelong improvements to educational, work and health prospects. At a time when the first lady, Michelle Obama, has begun a nationwide campaign to improve schoolchildren’s health, the lessons from Title IX show that school-based fitness efforts can have lasting effects.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 required schools and colleges receiving federal money to provide the same opportunities for girls as they did for boys. Relatively few students, male or female, participate in intercollegiate sports. But the effects in high school were remarkable. Just six years after the enactment of Title IX, the percentage of girls playing team sports had jumped sixfold, to 25 percent from about 4 percent.

Most research on Title IX has looked at national trends in girls’ sports. Betsey Stevenson, an economist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has taken it a step further, focusing on state-by-state variations.

“I looked to see what it means to add sports to girls’ lives,” she said. “How does it change things for them?”

States with large boys’ sports programs had to make bigger changes to achieve parity than states with smaller programs. Looking at the state-by-state statistics allowed Dr. Stevenson to narrow her focus, comparing differences in sports participation with differences in women’s educational and work achievement.

So her study untangles the effects of sports participation from other confounding factors — school size, climate, social and personal differences among athletes — and comes far closer to determining a cause and effect relationship between high school sports participation and achievement later in life.

Using a complex analysis, Dr. Stevenson showed that increasing girls’ sports participation had a direct effect on women’s education and employment. She found that the changes set in motion by Title IX explained about 20 percent of the increase in women’s education and about 40 percent of the rise in employment for 25-to-34-year-old women.

“It’s not just that the people who are going to do well in life play sports, but that sports help people do better in life,” she said, adding, “While I only show this for girls, it’s reasonable to believe it’s true for boys as well.”

Another question is whether Title IX has made a difference in women’s long-term health. In a carefully conducted study, Robert Kaestner, an economics professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, compared rates of obesity and physical activity of women who had been in high school in the 1970s — as Title IX was taking effect — with similar women from earlier years. Controlling the results for other influences, like age and changing diets, Dr. Kaestner was able to tease out the effects Title IX had on women’s health.

He found that the increase in girls’ athletic participation caused by Title IX was associated with a 7 percent lower risk of obesity 20 to 25 years later, when women were in their late 30s and early 40s. His article was published this month in the journal Evaluation Review.

Dr. Kaestner notes that while a 7 percent decline in obesity is modest, no other public health program can claim similar success. And other studies have shown that even a small drop in weight can lower risk for diabetes and other health problems.

There is still room for improvement. Today about 1 in 3 high school girls play sports, compared with about half of all boys. And participation varies widely by state, according to Dr. Stevenson’s research. Southern states like Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee still have big gender gaps, while Northern states like Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Vermont are closer to parity.

“While we have more girls than ever before, we still have far more boys playing sports than girls,” said Nicole M. LaVoi, associate director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota. “The research clearly states that when anybody, boys and girls, are physically active, they can reap developmental and health benefits. But we haven’t reached equality yet.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/health/16well.html?ref=todayspaper

 

WISE Attendee Testimonials

            

From: Batte, Carol
Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 2:59 PM
To: Beth Schnitzer
Subject: Press Release on AAcom/women

 

PRNewswire-FirstCall:   Responding to requests from women travelers, American Airlines today unveiled a fresh look to AA.com/women, the airline industry's first online resource specifically designed for millions of female travelers.  AA.com/women specializes in featuring articles about business, family, girlfriend getaways, and more. It has unique offers, destination content, and quick links to travel tips, weather updates, and flight information. The site - though certainly not exclusive to women -also hosts online discussion forums where stories and advice can be swapped within the women's travel community.  The site enhancements also include travel destination videos (London, Shanghai, and St. John U.S. Virgin Islands), new destination content, and - exclusive to AA.com/women readers - gifts and insider tips from travel expert Paula Conway, who exclusively produces "Conway Confidential" information about international and domestic destinations just for American's customers.  Conway Confidential is only available to American's AA.com/women readers; no other airline carries this content. Conway Confidential travel experts focus on those unique opportunities to turn an ordinary trip something special and memorable. Conway Confidential also includes the "Secret Spots & Hidden Gems" exclusive destination video segment, which features select cities around the world and is hosted by Conway.  In addition to the Conway Confidential videos, American has integrated AA.com/women's destination content with other video content and featured destinations. AA.com/women readers can now find the AAdvantage Milestones video on London, the Conway Confidential video on London, and the Conway Confidential content and special offers on London all together.  "As an established leader in welcoming all customers, the enhancements to AA.com/women demonstrate American's continued commitment to women travelers and to improving the overall travel experience," said LeAnn Marchbanks, American's Director of Women's Marketing

 

 

http://www.aa.com/aa/pubcontent/en_US/urls/women.jsp?anchorLocation=DirectURL&title=women

 

From: Lindsay Schedeler
Sent: Sunday, August 24, 2008 11:10 PM
To: Beth Schnitzer
Subject: WISE SF

Hi Beth,

Since recently joining WISE SF I have benefited both personally and professionally from my membership. The events and programs provide opportunities to learn from and interact with industry leaders, and to network with fellow members. The organization also offers resources for professional development, such as career coaching, and the upcoming mentoring program. I have found the women of WISE SF to be smart, inspiring and fun! I look forward to my membership in the years to come.

Lindsay Schedeler

 

Blog, New Media & You: Managing Your Digital Identity.

                    Monday, March 31, 2008

From: Vanessa Murphy
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 10:35 PM
To: Beth Schnitzer
Subject: Your awesome event

Hi there Beth,
Please forgive me for being remiss in writing to let you know how much I enjoyed the Media/blog  event @ the Kabuki Hotel on March 31st. I have to say, it really made every single person in the room feel like we really needed to get onboard! From the start of the evening, you were so charming and lovely, so comfortable speaking to the group, as if you were speaking to a friend. You put everyone at ease, and then Zennie was equally funny and charming, but in a different way. It was nice to have a male moderator with a panel of  
women. It was obvious that they all not only felt comfortable with him, but respected him. The panel were so fascinating! It really made me, and I'm sure most of the others in the room feel like we need to  
get with the program! There was so much good advice, contact information, expertise, and human connection to the subject of media and blogs....it can be daunting, and I think it took alot of the pain of not knowing out of it. I'm not so sure I need to know or want to know that much about people's private lives, but it was so informative.

I hope that you'll continue to present such scintillating  
conversation and allow us to push our boundaries with the new new.

Many thanks and will look forward to more with interest.
xxx,
Vanessa
            

 

 

TIPS

 

ONLINE CAREER SEARCH TOOLS

 

On-line Identity – The Google Factor

  

Key point: 75% of recruiters and 35% of personal contacts Google people and make decisions on what is found.  Be sure to self Google to establish your baseline.

                      

                      

           

Read more...

                                              

                                                                   

WORKING WITH EXECUTIVE SEARCH CONSULTANTS

Getting on the Radar Screen of Executive Search Consultants

Read more...

 

MANAGING YOUR CAREER

How to Conduct a Successful Marketing Campaign When The Product is "YOU!"

by Bobbie LaPort

If you are like most marketing professionals, you will change jobs an average of six to eight timesi n your career - and probably make at least one complete career change during your professional lifetime.  Read more...

 

RESOURCES

 

BOBBIE LAPORTE
 

Before founding RAL & Associates, Ms. LaPorte served in GM, COO and CMO roles in several Fortune 100 companies, including IBM, GE, Citigroup and United Healthcare. She is passionate about helping professionals find their place in the workplace. A certified career coach, she has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, and an MBA from Harvard. A frequent speaker and author on the powerful relationship between physical fitness and career success, she is also an accomplished triathlete and multi-sport coach. Bobbie is currently training for her fifth Ironman triathlon.

 

“Career Makeover” – with WISE Board Member and Career Coach Bobbie LaPorte

 

Whether you love your job or dread getting out of bed in the morning to go to work, this program can help you find the “best next step” in your career. Bobbie will tailor a program to create your career plan that could include career assessments, development of job targets, resume and other personal documents; how to use social media, networking skills, even managing your current boss to improve your career advancement. (Note: program must begin before the end of March and will cover approximately 10 hours of coaching time. Meetings (in person or phone) will be determined by Bobbie and individual).

Roberta (Bobbie) LaPorte, is Founder and Principal of RAL & Associates, a consulting firm providing leadership and career consulting services to professionals in transition.

 

Bobbie LaPorte - Fortune 50 Executive - Leadership and Career Coach - Ironman Triathlete

AT THE TOP OF YOUR GAME - Leadership with an Athlete's Mentality

RAL & Associates, Career & Leadership Consultants

Office: 415.242.1766  Mobile: 415.990.7594

Blog:       http://theroadtokona.typepad.com

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbielaporte

Web:       www.bobbielaporte.com

Twitter:    ironbobbieinsf@twitter.com

Email:     blaporte@sbcglobal.net

                       

 

KATHY STRIEBEL
Kathy is an IT professional specializing in custom web-data applications.
www.scarletb.com

 

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