Underappreciated and overlooked in a society that puts a premium on patriarchy, women have constantly been relegated to the backseat in many of the world’s largest sporting events—but inspiring female athletes are looking to make their mark, yearning for their shot in the spotlight beside the men.
Whenever basketball is mentioned in conversations, people tend to think of Michael Jordan, LeBron James, or Kobe Bryant. Similarly, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi are among the first names that come to mind when people talk about football.
But when people think of tennis, something odd happens. Sure, some might think of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, or Roger Federer, but many more recall Serena Williams. Tennis proves that both men and women can share and compete in a sport at the highest level of play.
When examining the reason why some sports like tennis don’t experience gender inequality to the same extent as a multitude of other sports, two main reasons prove most relevant. First is the absence of the ownership over the sport by a single sex—the sport is deemed suitable for everyone, male or female. Secondly, there are proper avenues for both sexes in their pursuit of higher level training and competition.
Breaking the mold
Society has a habit of assigning ownership over a sport to a single sex. Growing up, most boys are enrolled in sports like football or basketball by their parents, while girls are told to do sports like ballet and gymnastics. Society decides which sports are proper for men to compete in, and the same is true for women. The practice has created a toxic environment in which athletes are heavily stereotyped, with both men and women reeling from these effects.
When you examine the sports that have the lowest disparity between men and women, they are sports that normally have a division where men and women can compete together on even footing. The establishment of a mixed doubles division in badminton and tennis is a strong statement making the case for the sport being suitable for both sexes and for women being more than capable of competing on equal footing with men. This allows both to share the spotlight as equals.
It may not be reasonable to suggest a mixed-sex division in every sport as of writing this, but it is clear that the first step toward the bridging of the canyon-wide disparity in the treatment of men and women in major sports is the abandonment of hasty and distasteful generalizations, which attack women on personal levels as well.
If the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Romelu Lukaku, and Sadio Mane can use their platforms to dismantle racial inequality, the same can be done by both men and women athletes to bring down sex-discrimination in sports—all they need is the platform to be able to create that change.
When women can climb to and claim the pinnacle, people can better see the inaccuracies of these stereotypes which helps these icons break the mold society enforces for everyone else.
The United States (US) women’s national soccer team reigned supreme in the recently concluded FIFA Women’s World Cup. Their fierceness on the pitch was a sight to behold, deviating from the usual elegance expected of women and instead being recognized for what athletes ought to be noticed for—their skills on the field. In doing so, they made waves by breaking gender stereotypes in sports.
Leveling the field
One of the most popular defenses for the disparity between the way we treat the men’s and women’s divisions is the assumption that men play at a “higher level”. Although true to an extent, when one examines the argument it is clear that it is a self-actualizing cycle. The argument itself is what created the conditions for it to survive in.
The reason for such a large disparity in skill level between men and women in some sports is because the men’s division has far greater investment in its development. Because of the idea that men play at a higher level, it is assumed that they require access to higher level coaching, better facilities, and more advanced sports technology in order to develop as players—not to mention better organized tournaments with larger monetary compensations. Women don’t have access to these same tools as there is not as much investment in their development as seen in the US women’s national team compared to the men’s national team. The result is a continuously widening skills gap that perpetuates the idea that men are inherently more skilled than women in their chosen sports.
The importance of sports development is immense. Take the NBA, for example, the difference of the level of play at its inception compared to the current level of play is like night and day. The advancement of sports technology and coaching has allowed sports to evolve, but women are unable to access these same tools.
In the footballing world, for example, the ladies team of Manchester United is relegated to training in the club’s old training ground, the Cliff, where the team’s youngest academy players train, while the men’s squad trains in the state of the art Trafford Training Center. In basketball, the best coaches always have their sights set on the NBA. Sure, one can argue that there is more prestige and financial gain to be had in the men’s leagues, but that leads back to women’s leagues not having the same amount of support and investment. Female athletes will not be able to close the gap in terms of skill for as long as there is an invisible ideology in place that systematically disenfranchises them.
Watching the recent victory of the Lady Archers over the Lady Eagles, and the reactions of our players to the win, reminded me how incredibly captivating it can be to watch female athletes succeed in their chosen sport. Women prove on a consistent basis that they have the passion and drive, all they need now is a chance to develop in the same way men’s sports allow men to do so.
Women’s sports are electrifying when given a chance. The amount of passion and emotion these women pour into their matches are physically observable. Women’s divisions across several sports have the raw potential, what they require now is to be given the same amount of recognition and support as their male counterparts.
