Introduction
Despite the importance of social justice in public discourse in the United States, social, gender, and economic inequality in the sports industry are still huge problems. These issues were raised to a new level after protests by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He knelt during the US national anthem to raise the topic of racial inequality in sports and society in general (Jude). After that, athletes began to speak more openly about inequality and injustice in sports competitions.
This essay will touch on the topic of gender discrimination in sports. More specifically, the focus will be on restricted opportunities for women athletes to develop in their sports. Despite women’s history of fighting for fairness in sports, the current situation is still marked by pay inequality and disproportionately low career opportunities.
Brief Historical Background of Gender Discrimination
A remarkable historical moment in women’s struggle for equal opportunity was the introduction of Title IX. It was a law prohibiting gender discrimination in educational and sports programs funded by the federal government. Before the law was enacted in 1972, women experienced significant difficulties finding sufficient funding for their sports activities.
ESPN journalist Steve Wulf described these problems: “The men had state-of-the-art boats <…> the women, who were far more successful, made do with antiquated, shoddy wooden shells” (11). He continues: “After every practice… the men would go into the showers, while the women got on the bus and waited for them” (Wulf 11). The vivid case of women’s resistance and striving to achieve their dreams was the participation of Kathrine Switzer in the 1967 Boston Marathon. She registered using only her initials and tried to hide her gender identification.
Therefore, gender discrimination lies at the root of the sports movement in the US. The male-dominated industry did not welcome any women’s demands for equal treatment. As a result, women were excluded from prestigious sporting activities because it was normal in these times. Even the introduction of Title IX did not solve the continuous injustice towards women. For example, this law did not address the discrimination that women of color, especially Black women, faced.
Continuation of Gender Discrimination Today
This essay raises the issue that women continue to face inequality in the US sports industry, even after being formally given equal opportunity. The integral problem is that women receive much less funding and resources than male athletes. Such a fact may be explained through the framework of intersectionality. In one particular moment, women face multiple experiences of discrimination, including workplace discrimination, racial discrimination (if women are not white), and sexual objectification. It means that women cannot use their formal right to have equal access to federal programs and college tournaments because the professional industry has prejudice towards female athletes.
Women’s place in sports is often discussed in tandem with the general topic of gender segregation. For example, Braumüller et al. note that non-cisgender athletes face the highest level of structural discrimination (14). Methodologically, such conclusions were made through the regression analysis of statistical databases containing 2,282 quantitative observations of online surveys. Nevertheless, although LGBT+ rights in the sports industry are a crucial topic in the research community, the discussion of women’s rights seems slightly different.
As noted, the primary current issue is the gender pay gap that makes the sports career impossible for many women. Adelphi University reports that there is more than a 94% pay discrepancy in the sports industry. Such extreme differences in the payments happen against the background of increased interest in women’s sports in recent years. For example, Forbes notes that the college basketball March Madness Finals were historically high in the women’s tournament (9.92 million viewers) and historically low in the men’s tournament (14.68 million viewers) (Adgate).
It is an undisputed fact that a larger audience views men’s sports. Such audience interest in these sports was caused by the continued dominance of male athletes in sports. However, recent record viewing trends for women’s games indicate that women’s sports will become more popular. It is an evident social injustice that exists in modern sports. The status quo may change shortly because politicians and businesses cannot fail to notice such a clear trend of growing interest in women’s sports.
Conclusion
This essay discusses one social justice issue from two different historical perspectives. Consequently, the difference in problems faced by women in the 1960s and 2023 makes this problem twofold. In the 1960s, women experienced extreme discrimination because sports event organizers could restrict women from participating. It seems that these legacies continue to be valuable even in the present time.
Although wild past inequalities have been eliminated, structural discrimination is still present. Its primary manifestation is in the disproportional pay between male and female athletes. It was argued that it is unjust because women’s sports have gained popularity among sports viewers.
Works Cited
Adelphi University. “Male vs Female Professional Sports Salary Comparison.” Adelphi University, 2021. Web.
Adgate, Brad. “March Madness Finals Ratings Set a Record High for Women, Record Low for Men.” Forbes. 2023. Web.
Braumüller, Birgit et al. “Gender Identities in Organized Sports— Athletes’ Experiences and Organizational Strategies of Inclusion.” Frontiers in Sociology, vol. 5, 2020, pp. 1–17. Web.
Jude, Adam. “How Colin Kaepernick Inspired Activism, Awareness and Seattle Athletes to Speak Out Against Racial Injustice.” The Seattle Times. 2020. Web.
Wulf, Steve. “Title Waves.” espnW, 2021. Web.