Barriers facing women in sports

Women deserve to have a rightful place in sports. They deserve a sports environment where their hard work is appreciated, their games are broadcast for all to see, and their opportunities are limitless. However, the sports industry has slighted female athletes and professionals for years, and this continues to be a problem to this day. The barriers to entering the sports industry are apparent all over the world. The high financial costs to join, the sheer amount of training necessary, and the low opportunities available make it almost insurmountable for any given athlete to succeed. However, the barriers for women become even greater. Schools choosing to market and promote ‘gender appropriate’ extracurriculars such as cheerleading for girls and football for boys lead young girls to create a narrow viewpoint of the activities that they can participate in and the opportunities available. Once women achieve the goal of making it into their dedicated sports, studies have shown women's remarkable impacts when placed in the sports spotlight. This includes achieving the highest-viewed sports events in history to making the workplace a safer, more comfortable environment to thrive. Yet, women’s sports coverage only makes up 3.2% of news and television shows, 87% of NCAA schools offer higher athletic opportunities for men, and the pay discrepancies still drive women out of sports daily (Wharton, 2020). The sports industry continues to be a rocky road for women as they face huge barriers such as underrepresentation, gender discrimination, and unequal pay, showcasing the severity of the problem for the promotion of inclusivity.

Take a second to imagine spending years on your craft, dedicating hours and days out of your schedule to practice and perfect your skills. Imagine climbing the ladder and making it to the very top and presenting your work, only for your contributions and efforts to be pushed aside and not even glanced at. The more you put your blood, sweat, and tears into your work, the less it gets noticed and accredited. The immense devastation this causes can put a toll on your mental health and lead to not only yourself but those who look up to you giving up on their dreams and ambitions. While this may be a hypothetical situation for you, it’s a reality for thousands of women pursuing a career in the sports industry. When it comes to televised programming, highlight shows, and overall coverage of women’s sports the inequalities are greatly apparent. A study conducted by Michael Messner and Cheryl Cooky from the University of Southern California mentioned in a journal entry by Sage Journals found that while men’s sports tournaments held 100 segments across 3 hours of airtime, women’s tournaments only made up 11 segments and 6.5 minutes (‌Cooky & Lavoi, 2012). This coverage hit an all-time low in 2009, with women’s sports making up less than two percent of total televised news and this low coverage continues to be a reality today with coverage only making up 3.2 percent (Wharton, 2020). This bias amongst television channels creates a false narrative that women’s sports don’t exist or are not up to the same caliber as men’s sports.

The underrepresentation, however, doesn’t stop at female athletes, it also affects those in professional positions. Despite the growing number of women participating in sports due to Title IX, the number of women who make up professional positions in sports organizations has fallen drastically. According to Acosta and Carpenter, women's involvement in coaching and administration jobs has fallen from over 90 percent to nearly 40 percent since the implication of Title IX (Carpenter & Acosta, 2014). This inequality continues throughout high school sports as out of 7,041 coaches, females only made up 899 of those, or 13 percent (Massengale & Lough, 2010). Underrepresenting women in sports creates an invisibility wall where only those inside know of their existence and happenings, shielding the outside world from being aware of the opportunities and world that exists inside. 

The Educational Amendment of Title IX has done numbers to increase the opportunities for women in sports by stating that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to the discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance” (United States Department of Justice, 2015). This has allowed the number of women participants to increase by 40% across all levels (‌Cooky & Lavoi, 2012). However, the playing field is far from equal for athletes and professionals. Despite these progressive measures, the world of women in sports, especially regarding representation, is far from fair. 

            The inequalities in representation aren’t the only thing driving women away from pursuing a career in sports, the gender roles and discrimination play a huge factor in young women continuing to follow their dreams. Cultural stereotypes play a major role in the ideas and viewpoints of women in sports. Schools choosing to market and promote ‘gender appropriate’ extracurriculars such as cheerleading for girls and football for boys, lead young girls to create a narrow viewpoint of the activities that they can participate in and the opportunities available. Pressure from peers and the public also constitutes this mindset of gender roles in sports. The Women’s Sports Foundation found that around 32 percent of girls stated that they have been made fun of or made uncomfortable by boys while practicing (Zarrett et al., 2019). This stereotyping and pressure can make women conscious of their appearance from participating in physical activities as well, with nearly 31 percent of girls expressing that their lack of motivation for participating in sports comes from appearance (Zarrett et al., 2019). 

Pressure from peers isn’t the only source of discrimination women face in the sports world. Mainstream media attention poses to be problematic when it comes to the promotion of female participation in sports. This comes in the form of sexualization that discriminates against a woman’s achievements and athleticism. Magazines such as Playboy, FHM, and Maxim have been on the rise since the early 2000’s by promoting covers of female sports icons either posing in suggestive ways or wearing skimpy bathing suits. While many athletes and sports teams see this as a promotion for their sports, it only furthers the stereotypes and encourages discrimination. 

 Equal pay is another match that has yet to be won for women in sports. While entertainment and sports have made headway in improving the inequalities, especially in tennis, there’s still a long road ahead. Breaking it down by sport, WNBA athletes make around 10 percent of NBA players, LPGA players make around a third of PGA players, and MLS players make almost 10 times what NWSL players do (‌Adelphi University, 2023). While these pay discrepancies persist, the viewership of high-level professional women’s tournaments has soared. The 2019 FIFA World Cup between the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team and the Netherlands saw viewership of over 14 million, an increase of 10.5 million people since 2001. However, with this growth, the Women’s National Soccer team still sees less than 10 percent of the team salary budget of the Men’s Soccer League (‌Adelphi University, 2023). 

While these gaps are staggering, it is not the dollar-for-dollar equality in pay that these professional women are after. They’re simply asking for the same opportunities to prove their worth in sports. Nneka Ogwumike, the number 1 draft pick for the WNBA in 2012 shares in an article with ESPN that, “... none of us are out there saying we want to be paid the exact same as the men. When I think of pay equity, I think of the opportunity that the NBA and other male sports leagues have to be successful” (Keating, 2020). The professional women athletes of today’s world are searching for something more than just equal compensation for their work. They are asking for a bigger piece of the puzzle in terms of opportunities and action. 

Without fair representation, respect for their craft, and equal compensation, women continue to fall out of the sports industry and their passions. The statistics prove that while there has been headway in improving the playing ground, we are far from a society that promotes female participation in sports in a positive and fair light. Women have proved their worth as they have gained the eyes of millions in sports tournaments, made the workplace a safe environment, and led to impeccable athletic achievements. However, by putting up barriers to entry and allowing for continual inequalities and stereotyping, it creates a culture that looks down upon females who want to pursue a career, professionally or athletically, in this male-dominated industry. This will only cause further harm until organizations step up to ensure equal opportunities, increased representation, and improved pay for women in sports. 

References

Adelphi University. (2023, October 23). Male vs Female Professional Sports Salary Comparison. Adelphi University Online; Adelphi University. https://online.adelphi.edu/articles/male-female-sports-salary/

Carpenter, L. J., & Acosta, V. (2014). Women in Intercollegiate Sports. http://acostacarpenter.org/2014%20Status%20of%20Women%20in%20Intercollegiate%20Sport%20-37%20Year%20Update%20-%201977-2014%20.pdf

Staurowsky, E. J., Watanabe, N., Cooper, J., Cooky, C., Lough, N., Paule-Koba, A., Pharr, Williams, S., Cummings, S., Issokson-Silver, K., & Snyder, M. (2020). Chasing Equity: The Triumphs, Challenges, and Opportunities in Sports for Girls and Women. Women’s Sports Foundation. https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Chasing-Equity-Executive-Summary.pdf

‌Cooky, C., & Lavoi, N. M. (2012). Playing but Losing. Contexts, 11(1), 42–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536504212436495

‌Keating, P. (2020, May 14). Analysis: What equal pay in women’s sports really means. ESPN.com. https://www.espn.com/espnw/story/_/id/28971949/analysis-equal-pay-sports-really-means-fight-goes-us-women-soccer

Massengale, D., & Lough, N. (2010). Women Leaders in Sport. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 81(4), 6–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2010.10598455

United States Department of Justice. (2015, August 6). Title IX. Justice.gov. https://www.justice.gov/crt/title-ix

‌Wharton, D. (2020, January 15). Study shows women athletes still face barriers. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-01-15/study-shows-women-athletes-still-face-barriers

Zarrett, N., Cooky, C., & Veliz, P. (2019). Coaching through a Gender Lens: Maximizing Girls’ Play and Potential Executive Summary Coaching through a Gender Lens: Maximizing Girls’ Play and Potential 2. https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Gender-Lens-Executive-Summary-Updated-format-6-3-20-FINAL.pdf