Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson Heads Up Task Force on Women in Sports

Almost fifty years after the creation of Title IX, female athletes still routinely face lower levels of investment, training resources and safety measures.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson Mackinac 2019 3

Jake Neher/WDET

It would be hard not to get excited about the success that’s unfolding during the U.S. women’s soccer team’s run at the World Cup. But that success is also a reminder, a stark one, of the disparities that persist between women’s sports and men’s.

Almost fifty years after the creation of Title IX, female athletes still routinely face lower levels of investment, training resources and safety measures. That’s according to Michigan’s new Task Force on Women in Sports, which notes that only one division one athletics program in Michigan is led by a woman.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order creating the task force earlier this month. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson will serve as chair.

Benson joins Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to talk about the task force, the issues it will tackle, and the state of opportunity for girls and women in sports in 2019.

Click on the audio player above to hear that conversation.

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