Gender Inequality in Sports

“No matter how toughened a sportswoman may be, her organism is not cut out to sustain certain shocks.” - Founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1896. Many of us can argue that over the past several years, this mindset has changed, that women are now offered equal pays, opportunities and jobs. But are they really?

According to the statistics introduced by the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport, although approximately 40% of sport and physical activity participants are women, women’s sports receive only 4% of all sports media coverage.

Citing other instances, according to Forbes Magazine, the U.S. Women’s National Team earned $2 million for their 2015 Women’s World Cup Soccer victory as compared to the U.S. men’s team who collected $9 million dollars, on coming 11th in the 2014 Soccer World Cup. According to Forbes Magazine, the gender wage gap for coaches is extremely high as well. At Duke University, the men’s basketball coach makes almost $10 million annually, whereas the women’s basketball coach makes a little over $700,000. In the N.B.A, the minimum starting salary is about eight times more than what the average W.N.B.A. player makes.

Is there a scope to make a change? To make a difference? Yes! In fact, on 8th March 2019, all 28 players of the U.S. women's national soccer team have filed a federal gender discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to ensure an equal pay.

There is still a lot more that can be done for women in sports or any field for that matter. We all should stand together and work towards what we believe in to create a better future for men and women alike. 

~Sanjana Dixit