February 17, 2021
Dear Representatives,
Independent Women’s Voice, which fights for policies that enhance people’s freedom, opportunities, and well-being, is proud to support the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 426), sponsored by Representative Greg Steube. The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act will help ensure that female athletes are able to compete on a level playing field.
Women’s sports have made tremendous progress since the enactment of Title IX in 1972. Yet a recent Supreme Court ruling, Bostock v. Clayton County, undermines and jeopardizes this progress by calling the legality of sex-specific athletic teams into question.
Forcing female athletes to compete against biological males is discrimination against women.
There are biological differences between men and women that make competition between the two unfair. In fact, according to Eric Vilain, a professor of human genetics at UCLA, there is a “10 to 12 percent difference between male and female athletic performance.”
If women are forced to compete with and against men, they will miss out on valuable opportunities. Not only is this unfair, it defeats the purpose of Title IX.
IWV is proud to support the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act and thanks Representative Steube for his leadership on this important issue. We urge all Representatives to work toward the bill’s swift passage and to protect the rights of women and girls to compete on a level playing field.
Respectfully,
Hadley Heath Manning
Director of Policy
Independent Women’s Voice