Seven years after the state education department faced a civil rights lawsuit over gender inequality in sports, Hawaiʻi girls remain consistently underrepresented in high school athletics. 

Of the 44 high schools reporting data for the 2024-25 academic year, only 10 had girls participating in sports at rates that roughly matched or exceeded their enrollment, according to data Civil Beat received through a public records request from the Department of Education.

For example, girls made up 42% of athletes but accounted for 47% of the total student body at Campbell High School, which faced a lawsuit from female students in 2018 for inequalities in its athletics program. 

Waimea High School on Kauaʻi reported the greatest disparities in girls’ involvement in sports. Last year, girls made up roughly a third of students participating in athletics but comprised 46% of Waimea High School’s population. 

King Kekaulike, Honokaʻa and Kauaʻi High Schools reported similarly low participation rates for athletics among girls. 

On the other hand, an equal number of boys and girls participated in sports at Kaʻū High and Pāhala Elementary on the Big Island last year. But the school enrolled fewer than 500 kids and only had 256 students participating in sports. 

Other schools where a proportional number of girls participated in sports included Hana High and Intermediate, Hilo High School and Kaiser High School.

Last year, the department launched girls’ flag football as an official high school sport in an effort to increase female participation in athletics. This spring, 16 public and private schools participated in the state championship tournament.

The department also hired a specialist dedicated to training and supporting schools in gender equity in athletics in February 2024, according to an annual report to the Legislature. 

Multiple schools across the state are still facing disparities in the availability and quality of sports facilities for their boys’ and girls’ teams. As of December, DOE had more than 20 ongoing construction projects to improve its compliance with federal laws requiring girls and boys to have equal opportunities in sports. 

For example, Roosevelt High School was starting improvements to its softball field, and Waiākea High School was planning to start construction on its girls’ athletic locker room later in the year. 

The department will submit an updated report to the Legislature on its efforts to improve girls’ access to athletics in late 2025 or early 2026.

Are you facing unequal opportunities in sports at your school? Tell us here.

Civil Beat’s reporting on women’s and girls’ issues is funded in part by the Frost Family Foundation, and “Data Dive” is supported in part by the Will J. Reid Foundation. Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.