Panel Discusses Gender Equality

Jeff Leeds

Cavalier Daily

Cavalier Daily

1992-09-22

Cavalier Daily

Panel Discusses Gender Equality
By JEFF LEEDS
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
The FOCUS women's group, in an effort to increase awareness of gender equity problems in college athletic programs, presented a panel discussion between University administrators and Charlottesville educators at the Omni Hotel last night.
The panel discussion, which kicked off FOCUS' “Women'sWeek,” attracted 35 attendees, who voiced concerns over salary and funding disparities in women's collegiate athletics.
Linda Bunker, dean of students for student affairs in the Education School, told community members the concept of gender equity “was received as a threat” by many members of athletic circles at higher education institutions across the country “because it demanded equal access to sports experience for both men and women.”
Virginia women's lacrosse Coach Jane Miller acknowledged gender equity can be a nebulous concept, but said “just because it does not have one definition does not mean we don't have a responsibility to ensure fairness” in college athletic programs.
Recent statistics provided by the Women's Sports Foundation show that in 1972, 90 percent of women’s sports teams were coached by women. In 1992, however, only 44 percent of women's athletic teams are coached by women, according to the data.
The panelists urged community members to take the initiative in increasing equality among men's and women's athletic programs and called on the National Collegiate Athletic Association to pass legislation regulating team expenditures to insure equity.
Bunker accused the television sports media of contributing to societal stereotypes of women and cited specific discrepancies in sports commentators' behavior that “demean” women.
In recent television coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, she said, sports broadcasters often referred to women players by their first names, connoting “a cutesy element” to female tennis players but called men by their lst names
Asst. Dean of Students Sybil Todd, who moderated the panel discussion, said attendees represented a “community comprised of parents of student athletes who are interested in gender equity. These people have a personal stake in it.”

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