The Mobilization of Title IX in Colleges and Universities, 1994-2014

• In Event: 229 - Section on Sociology of Law Paper Session. Gender and the Law

Abstract

Title IX is widely recognized as a crucial step toward gender equality in America. Yet it remains unclear how the law has been used in response to gender disparities in higher education. This article provides the first systematic analysis of how Title IX has been mobilized at the postsecondary level. Drawing on data acquired through seven Freedom of Information Act requests, I analyze all resolved Title IX complaints filed with the Office of Civil Rights against four-year, nonprofit colleges and universities from 1994 to 2014 (N=7,038). I find that the mobilization of Title IX has changed both in number and in kind during this period. Filings started to rise after 2000 and exploded after 2009, while sexual harassment complaints overtook all other types of Title IX complaints filed for the first time in 2014. Additionally, despite the egalitarian design of the complaint process, private schools and more selective schools face a disproportionate number of complaints relative to enrollment, indicating the power of institutions in mediating legal mobilization.

Author

• Celene Raymer Reynolds, Yale University