It’s fair to say that a significant amount of promotion and media attention is directed towards men’s athletics. But why is that? Nothing makes them different other than their gender. All athletes are striving to be the best and are deserving of being recognized. Gender stereotypes should not apply and they should be seen as equal.
For all the little girls out there looking for a role model, women in athletics can be that for them. That one individual giving it their all could be inspiring for millions of others, we would never know that if it was hidden from us.
An article from UN Women has similar thoughts. According to the article, “The ability to drive gender equality by teaching women and girls teamwork, self-reliance, resilience and confidence.” It is beneficial for everyone to have equal access to potential privileges, whatever they may be. As humans we’re also taught that each person, or in this case a member of a team, should be treated fairly.
In all of this, what’s most important is the action being taken.
The UN Women’s organization started the Sport of Generation Equality Initiative, which helps to make people aware of gender equality in our society. We can acknowledge what’s happening but if we don’t speak up, we’re just as much in the wrong for letting it continue. Nothing is wrong with standing up for what you believe in: in fact it makes you more confident than everyone else around you.
Equality’s antonym, discrimination, is sadly very prominent. For example, disregarding a woman to coach for a men’s team or refusing to provide women’s sports with proper equipment is seen often.
An Open EDU response feels similarly. These are acts of discrimination and are illegal. The Sex Discrimination Act (1975), “It is against the law to discriminate against, bully ot treat someone unfairly in a sport because of a personal characteristic.” People forget about the legal implications stating that this is wrong.
Speaking in terms of financial discrimination, women are consistently paid less. In some cases, the pay difference was nearly half of what the average male athlete takes home. In 2022, the Utah Chronicle reported, “The pay gap, exposure to fans and media and overall recognition all heavily favor men’s sports.” What’s sad is how true this is when there is no real difference, every sport is played similarly, no matter the gender.
On a positive note, there are occasions when women athletes get lots of attention. One example is the 2020 Olympics which was the most split between women and men who competed. The Utah Chronicle commented on this in their article. “The 2020 Tokyo Olympics was the most gender-equal Olympics of all time, with a nearly 50-50 split among women and men.” This is what we should be seeing, not one ounce of hard work should go without recognition.
To tie this all together, from the very beginning it is mentioned how your actions show the most. Sitting back and letting things stay this way is clearly not going to fix the problem. If we don’t address this issue deeper, women will continue to be less noticed.
The Utah Chronicle echoes these thoughts. “Focusing on promoting equal economic opportunities and presenting bias-free representation in the media are ways to further achieve equality in sports,” it stated.
Having inclusivity in all sports will allow for equality. Normalizing that women’s presence in sports and the industry as a whole is more than okay.
