The Status of Women in Sports

A talk by Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation

April 11, 1995

Donna Lopiano is currently executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation, and an accomplished athlete and sports administrator. She is a prolific writer and speaker and a recognized and highly-prominent advocate for gender equity in sports.

Among key points raised in her Mount Holyoke speech:

lack of access to sports programs for young girls denies them not only access to sports, but opportunities to learn ways of interacting that dominate structures throughout American society, especially in the corporate setting;
myths surrounding college football are obscuring key points in the struggle not only for gender equity in collegiate sports, but in efforts to open doors of athletic opportunity in lower profile sports for men as well as women; and,
women have much farther to go in gaining acceptance as athletes and in overcoming societal misconceptions regarding their abilities to participate and excel in all aspects of competition.