Gender Inequality In Sports

Gender equality has been an issue in society since the beginning of time. In recorded history, one can find many accounts of where women faced issues of equity in relationships, their career, education, and athletic opportunities.

Sports is one of the most powerful platforms for promoting gender equality and empowering women.

Sport has the power to change lives. The ability to drive gender equality by teaching women and girls teamwork, self-reliance and confidence. Women in sport defy gender stereotypes and social norms, make inspiring role models, and show men and women as equals.

But there have been many excuses as to why women shouldn't participate fully in sports over the years, including women being too emotional to compete or being physically incapable of enduring a marathon, or that it would be too inappropriate for women to dress in a way that allows the full range of physical movement. 

The debate around gender equality in sports remains a controversial topic, unfortunately. Even the founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, said in 1896, " No matter how toughened a Sportswoman may be, her organism is not cut out to sustain certain shocks".

There is not just inequality in participation and opportunity, but also with pay. That comes mainly in professional sports, wherein in almost all cases, men make more money than women. The more popular the sport, the more money is drawn, and the more inequalities come forth between women and men.  The rules in sports are the same for all players. However, female athletes are more likely to have lower salaries, fewer sponsors, poorer contracts and little to no media attention.

The participation of women and girls in sport remains largely imbalanced when compared to participation among men and boys, most researchers are in agreement that the consistent and continued participation of women and girls in sport has had a major impact on achieving gender equality in certain contexts.

Gender equality in sports means breaking down the harmful stereotypes that continue to make women less likely to take up sporting activities. It also means promoting women's advancement as professional athletes and leaders in the sports sector. 

Although women have faced many challenges throughout history, they have come closer and closer to achieving gender equality and those achievements cannot be ignored. Now women are able to show that they can “go big” and compete just as hard as men.