Rebecca Abalimba (Criminology)
Gender inequality persists in the twenty-first century due to income disparities, audience viewing statistics, and the entire range of options that exist between men and women in the arena of professional sports, women have struggled throughout history to gain recognition and the respect they deserve within the competitive limelight of sport. Female athletes are always fighting for their rights, and many of them have given up on their aspirations as a result of it. There are a plethora of issues to be dealt with. Fans, commentators, and even coaches objectify women because they view women's sports as a display for their own pleasure. Female athletes face sexist remarks, particularly from men who believe they aren't strong or talented enough to compete.
The income disparity between men and women, on the other hand, is a source of great frustration for women. Throughout the last decade, cases of female athletes going to the media to advocate for their rights have grown in popularity. A recent lawsuit involving the United States women's and men's soccer teams reignited the debate over gender wage disparities in sports. Women's sports are frequently undervalued compared to men's, resulting in a lack of resources and unequal earnings and prizes. Male athletes receive $179 million more in athletic scholarships each year than female players, according to the Women's Sports Foundation. Female athletes receive only 24 % of collegiate athletic operational costs, 16% of recruiting budgets, and 33% of scholarship budgets. At NCAA universities, male college athletes receive 36% more scholarship money than female college players.
Many people believe that if women's sports received greater media attention or sponsorship, they would become more popular with audiences. According to the media, if women's sports drew greater interest in the first place, more time and money would be invested in them. Sponsors are less likely to endorse teams or individuals that do not have a lot of media exposure, which few female athletes have. According to the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation, women's sports garnered only 7% of media coverage and 0.4 percent of commercial sponsorships in 2013. This is a vicious spiral because fans want to watch professional sports, and sponsors want to be linked with the top sportsmen. Due to a lack of sponsorship, many female athletes, including those who represent their countries, must schedule their training around their jobs. Many male athletes, on the other hand, consider their sport to be their vocation and so do not need to divide their training schedule with other obligations. Women who are compensated earn less than their male counterparts; for example, the Professional Golfers' Association offers 256 million dollars in prize money, but the women's association offers only 50 million. Coaches of women's teams are also paid differently than coaches of men's teams.
Things are changing, and there is a surge of support for industry equality. After winning numerous Ashes matches, the English women's cricket team turned professional in 2014, striking a two-year sponsorship contract with Kia. In 2007, the Wimbledon Championships began offering women the same prize money as men. Most notably, sports fans' attitudes appear to be shifting: According to the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation, 61% of spectators feel elite female athletes are as skilled as their male counterparts, and over half believe women's sports are just as exciting to watch.
Equal pay, opportunity, and recognition are just a few of the factors that go into establishing equality. In recent years, much has been done to address issues such as equal pay, but there is still work to be done to achieve complete equality. When the Women's World Cup achieves the same level of excitement, sponsorship, and viewership as the Men's World Cup, we will be closer to achieving sporting equality.
As a basketball player at the University of Essex, I've had my fair share of unequal experiences. The university provides extracurricular activities, one of them being 'Scrimmage Basketball' where 80% of the attendees are males and 10% are females. There are always more players than usual so each team has a substitute player and most of the time the substitute players are females who pay for the session just like the males but can go to a session without being subbed in a game and not playing at all just for the 'disadvantage' of being a woman. I asked multiple times to be subbed in a game and was told "Sorry, 'he' is better than you" when my abilities hadn't even been seen or performed, but because I am a woman it was seen as an instant disadvantage. This depicts the treatment of women in sports everywhere, not just in the sports industry. Men will always automatically be seen as better players.