Women Athletes Are Rising – Gender Discrimination In Sports Needs To Go

There is no doubt that 2021 was an exciting year for women’s sports. The Canadian FIFA Women’s World Championships were a great success, with the highest turnout ever. Yui Kamiji and Jordanne Whiley won their fifth Wimbledon title in women’s wheelchair doubles. The growing interest in women’s sports is placing increasing emphasis on the performance and achievements of female athletes. However, gender discrimination in sports is still a problem.

Women Became Active Participants in Sports In The Late 1800s

For a long time, women were not allowed to attend the Olympics or only in very limited numbers. According to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, one of the founders of the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Games should be a traditional event to honor male athletes. He thought that men as Olympic sportsmen are members of an elite order that women cannot fit into. The Baron said that an Olympiad with females would be impractical, uninteresting, unattractive, and unsuitable. However, when Alice Milliat founded the International Women’s Sports Federation (FSFI), she started one of the most important feminist lobbies. The organization and Milliat hosted the Women’s Olympics in 1921 and 1922. Precisely so that women would get the opportunity in sports either and to draw the IOC’s attention. From 1900, female athletes could also participate in the modern Olympic Games.

Despite the successful feminist movements, there is still gender discrimination in sports to this day. Some Asian and African countries still don’t let women compete because of culture and religion. There are also quite a few sports clubs in Western countries that do not allow women to join. However, due to the growing popularity of women’s sports, the International Olympic Committee is making gradual concessions. So that women can appear in more and more sports. For the first time in athletics, women could compete in the 1928 Amsterdam Games. Yet, many sports have only opened their doors to women in recent years, including pentathlon, fencing, and boxing.

The Change – Gender Discrimination in Sports

The modern perception of sports has distanced itself from the historical world of sports, traditionally considered a male right. According to the old-fashioned opinion, only men have physical characteristics suitable for sports. Since they considered women unsuitable for sporting activities, they banned them from sporting events.

However, modern sports went under great transformations, influenced by positive changes in gender equality, because of the feminist campaigns. The success and media coverage of female athletes today led to the reevaluation of sports. They announced recently that the FIFA video games will feature the international women’s national football teams for the first time. The presence of women in sports, becoming more common and accepted, is part of a long-awaited process.

Discrimination – Old Habits Die Hard 

The pay gap is one of the most unfair forms of gender discrimination in sports. There are countless examples of this. Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka are the only two women who have made it to the highest-paid athlete’s top 100 lists. Even though female athletes compete in the sports with the highest salaries, but the numbers are ridiculous compared to men. Another example in basketball, according to online sportsbook news sites in the US, is the massive pay gap between the NBA and the WNBA.

The WNBA played 32 matches this season, while the NBA played 82. However, the WNBA’s highest-paid player makes up around one-fifth of the NBA’s lowest-paid player. The appearance of women in the media is also a pressing issue of gender discrimination in sports. According to data, about 40% of participants in sports are women, but their sports achievements receive only 4% in the media. Plus, women-only sports get around 3.5% coverage of the news, based on research in four major newspapers.

Gender Discrimination in Sports: What Are The Roots?

Despite the many developments, hidden injustice in sports also continues to affect women’s attendance and acceptance in sports. There are still clear as day differences between women’s and men’s sports, often with little justification. The world of sports is an empire held by its unique structures.

Men were always the key elements, both as participants and organizers. It has cultural roots, traditional values, ​​and belief systems, which form the basis of sports. So, it’s not surprising that change is slow to come.

Growing up in a certain environment, with certain expectations and traditions, has a strong effect on everyone. This approach of the sports culture can have a negative impact on participation and access to sports, especially for minorities. However, thanks to the changes of the era, more and more people start seeing female athletes in a different light. People admit that gender discrimination in sports came from the memories of an era, that is long gone. Proof of this is that you can bet on numerous women’s sports at 1XBET Sportsbook.

Click here to stay tuned with 1XBET Sportsbook