51吃瓜

[Disclaimer: Lauren Greenberg was speaking in her personal capacity and not for her firm.]

Editor-in-Chief Atul Singh and Lauren Greenberg, the Deputy General Counsel of the Office of General Counsel of White & Case LLP, discuss the evolution of women鈥檚 athletics under Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments. Greenberg traces her own journey from founding the first women鈥檚 softball team for Dartmouth, New Hampshire, to using the law as a tool for equality. Their conversation explores how sports shape character, how the Title IX civil rights law reshaped opportunity in the United States and what the next frontier for women鈥檚 sports may be.

Founding Dartmouth鈥檚 softball team

Greenberg鈥檚 story begins in 1989, when she arrived at Dartmouth College and discovered that, unlike the men鈥檚 teams, there was no varsity softball program for women. Along with classmate Erika Beisler, she set out to build one. They organized players, scheduled games with other Ivy League schools and even took the test to drive the school bus so the team could travel to every 鈥渁way鈥� match. Dartmouth, she recalls, offered little help, leaving them to act as 鈥渂oth coaches and players.鈥�

Despite these obstacles, the group鈥檚 persistence laid the groundwork for change. When institutional support never materialized, Greenberg and her teammates turned to the law that would alter the landscape of women鈥檚 sports: Title IX.

Turning to Title IX

Unable to find a pro bono lawyer, Greenberg and her peers researched their options and filed a formal complaint with the Department of Education鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights. Since Dartmouth received federal funding, it was legally bound to comply with Title IX鈥檚 requirement of gender equality in education and athletics.

The complaint argued that the college failed to provide proportional opportunities for women鈥檚 sports. It was filed in the name of the women鈥檚 softball team generally, ensuring that the case would remain active until future students benefited from a fair resolution. The Department鈥檚 investigation validated their claims: Dartmouth was found to be out of compliance not just in softball, but in two varsity and several junior varsity sports. The college responded by establishing varsity softball and volleyball programs and expanding women鈥檚 athletic opportunities.

That experience, Greenberg says, was pivotal for her. 鈥淔iling that complaint and doing all the legwork on that鈥� captivated her and motivated her to become a lawyer.

What Title IX changed

Singh situates their conversation in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, where sport served as pre-military training, cultivating leadership and teamwork among men. Greenberg explains that before the 1960s, both women and people of color faced steep barriers to education and athletics. Women faced restrictions in college admission, and social expectations dictated which sports women could pursue.

Title IX disrupted that order by prohibiting sex discrimination in any educational institution receiving federal funds. Greenberg notes that the statute鈥檚 reach goes far beyond athletics 鈥� it underpins cases of sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination and violence against women. In sports, its legacy is unmistakable. Nearly 30 years after Dartmouth鈥檚 investigation, the softball team boasts championship titles, a shared indoor practice facility with the men鈥檚 team and its own stadium.

Life skills and social change

Sports cultivate communication, teamwork and resilience, skills that extend far beyond the field. They teach players how to accept losses, Greenberg says, and how to turn setbacks into lessons. These abilities translate into professional success and leadership.

Asked how Title IX has changed women and society, Greenberg believes its impact has been gradual but profound. The law created a framework for opportunity rather than a complete transformation overnight. 鈥淚t is a framework that allows for better opportunities and access by women to sports,鈥� she explains. 鈥淏ut they鈥檙e still playing a huge catch-up game.鈥� Media exposure, advertising and promotion remain dominated by men鈥檚 sports. For true parity, she insists, women鈥檚 sports need the same prime-time visibility and endorsement opportunities that have long defined male athletics.

The cultural battle for recognition

When Singh raises the notion that some viewers find women鈥檚 sports less exciting, Greenberg pushes back: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 applying a men鈥檚 standard of what you find exciting.鈥� She argues that fans should recognize the distinctive strategies and pacing of women鈥檚 competitions. For example, she prefers women鈥檚 soccer because she finds the strategy women employ in the sport to be more interesting.

To her, the issue is not a lack of excitement but a lack of imagination in marketing. If broadcasters promoted women鈥檚 sports on their own terms 鈥� emphasizing strategic play or teamwork rather than brute spectacle 鈥� audiences would gradually shift their tastes. Cultural change, she maintains, can be driven by greater marketing plans that shift the culture more with each passing quarter.

Beyond the market: the next frontier

Singh and Greenberg end on the question of what comes next. Pay equity, media representation and leadership in sports organizations are central goals, but so is the inclusion of less-publicized sports such as gymnastics and synchronized swimming. When Singh points out that markets often favor the lowbrow over the valuable, Greenberg agrees. 鈥淭he market, per se, is highly imperfect and will always be,鈥� she states. True progress, she believes, depends on new measuring sticks 鈥� ones that value social development as much as commercial success.

She also touches on the cultural resistance women face globally, from conservative religious norms to entrenched gender roles. Yet she finds hope in athletes who reconcile faith with participation, like Muslim women competing in hijabs at the Olympics. To her, this synthesis symbolizes the spirit of Title IX itself: expanding the freedom to play, compete and grow.

[ edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article/podcast are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.