I have incredible respect for the top female athletes--Tirunish Dibbaba could kick my butt and I think she's awesome. The top women are amazing, but I've always had a feeling that the not so top women are not as competitive as men.
So I divided the female world records by the male records and got:
sprints: 7-10% slower
mid distance: 12% slower
distance events: 12-14% slower (except Paula's WR which is insane).
Then I did the same thing comparing the top times in the UAA (div III NCAA) and the 20th best time in the UAA. Since neither the men nor the women are world class and since both are dIII runners from the same schools, I would think the ratio would be the same as the WRs. But they weren't.
Top UAA:
sprints: 15-17% slower
mid distance: 18-21% slower
distance: 20-22% slower
Number 20 UAA:
spints: 20-29% slower
mid distance: 22-26% slower
distance: 23-28% slower
Every time I made the runners worse, the difference between men and women became more pronounced. There was not any exceptions for any of the events.
So I guess my point is that either title IX is a total failure (unlikely--women are participating in droves) or maybe, just maybe most women care less about athletics then most men do (except the proffesionals at the top. And even as far as the proffesionals go, there are far fewer Kenyan women who run then men).