女足球迷们对于美国队第三次赢得世界冠军可能并不感到意外。但球迷们或许还不了解，美国女足赢得胜利的原因之一是一项里程碑式的取缔美国校园中性别歧视的民权立法。

这项立法简称“第九条”（Title IX），要求接受联邦资金的学校必须为男女学生提供参与体育运动的平等机会。这些学校还必须在安排教练、设施及其他资源方面对男女运动队一视同仁。

这项立法对女子体育产生了巨大影响。当“第九条”于1972年生效时，全美中学每27名女生中大约只有一人参加体育活动。而现在这个比例已经接近每3名女生中就有一人参加体育活动。参加大学体育活动的女生人数也大幅增加。

洛伊德在几年前接受《费城问讯报》（Philadelphia Inquirer）的采访时说：“如果没有‘第九条’，我可能不会踢球。”她上中学时就在校队踢足球，后来在罗格斯大学（Rutgers University）继续踢球。

参加体育运动能给女性带来长期惠益，例如提高学习成绩以及增强信心。最近的一项调查发现，女性高管中有96%都在学校参加过体育活动。【请参见“三月疯狂”女篮队出篮球明星……也出企业主管人才】

How one title led to another

It took only 16 minutes for the U.S. national team to make history in the 2015 Women’s World Cup final against Japan. That’s when U.S. midfielder Carli Lloyd scored the fastest hat trick, or three goals in a single game, in World Cup history.

For those who follow women’s soccer, the U.S. team’s third world title probably didn’t come as a surprise. But fans may not know one of the reasons behind the team’s success: landmark civil rights legislation that banned gender-based discrimination in U.S. schools.

Popularly known as “Title IX,” the law requires schools that receive federal funding to provide both sexes with equal opportunities to participate in sports. They also have to treat male and female teams equally in terms of access to coaches, facilities and other resources.

The impact on women in sports has been huge. When Title IX went into effect in 1972, only about one in 27 girls in the United States participated in sports in secondary school. Now the number is nearly one in three. Opportunities also have grown exponentially for women in college sports.

“I wouldn’t have been playing if there was no Title IX,” Lloyd, who played soccer for her secondary school and later for Rutgers University, told the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier in her career.

Participation in sports has long-lasting benefits for women off the field, including better grades and increased confidence. A recent study found that 96 percent of senior female executives played sports in school.