Gender Discrimination in Sports
Gender inequality is a major issue that has been reviewed in different social contexts, including politics, education, sports, and employment. The significance of gender inequality is also analyzed based on individual, academic, and political dimensions. The issue of gender inequality in sports has sparked a heated debate, mainly because of the rapid development of international women’s sports tournaments and professional teams. The struggle for gender inequality in the sports sector also aligns with the struggle for gender equality in societies worldwide that began in the 19th century. The rise of democratic societies has promoted women’s desire to be treated equally in the political, social, and economic environments. Dealing with gender discrimination in the sports industry has been complex because of the sexism and ignorance of some leaders in the industry. Learning institutions play a vital role in promoting gender discrimination in the sports industry by denying talented females the opportunity to improve their skills so that they can join professional teams. There are also limited opportunities in the local communities for females to enhance their sports skills, thus limiting their eligibility for participation in professional sports and their ability to join national teams. It is important to comprehend the concept of gender discrimination, the background of gender discrimination in sports, and the nature of gender discrimination in sports to design practical solutions to address the issue.
Literature Review
The Concept of Gender Discrimination
Gender discrimination is an individual’s disadvantaged or unfair treatment because of their gender. The issue of gender discrimination has been among the problems that have been in society for a long time, and it is passed from one generation to another. According to Azumara (2020), the importance of women in society and their rights was realized between the 1960s and 1970s when the living conditions and economic growth relied on women’s status because of the negative impact of the Second World War on the economy. Therefore, there was a need to engage women in economic activities. However, their right to vote and engage in politics was limited and ignored by governments in most countries worldwide. Women responded by creating movements that pushed for their social, economic, and political rights to reduce gender inequality. Although the movements helped in increasing gender equality by granting women social and economic rights, their involvement in politics was still low, but it has increased over the past ten years because of laws on women’s rights and anti-discrimination in many societies worldwide. In the individual dimension of gender discrimination, gender inequality is evident in women’s daily lives. For example, women are discriminated against in the workplace. Tan (2022) argues that the cultures and social interactions in society construct gender discrimination. Therefore, women may be discriminated against by being denied the opportunity to participate in social activities such as creating policies and initiatives to help the community. Individual gender discrimination is the leading cause of gender inequality. According to Baeckström (2022), gender inequality is the disparity between men and women in society in terms of opportunities and access in the political, economic, and social spheres and their decision-making power at all levels of society. Gender inequality may be portrayed through gender violence, unequal access to education, and child marriage.
Background of Gender Diversity in Sports
The history of gender diversity in the sports sector is traced back to 1972 when the United States Congress passed the Omnibus Education Act’s Title IX to ensure that all higher education learning institutions receiving funding from the government were given equal rights opportunities for female and male students. However, Title IX was not applicable in learning institutions that admitted students from one sex, institutions specializing in military training, and institutions that would violate their religious principles by conforming to it. Before Title IX was enacted, less than 32,000 women participated in inter-institutional sports, and 300,000 high school girls participated in school athletics (Azumara, 2020). After enactment, the number of women rose to 200,000 women athletes in college athletics and three million girls participating in inter-institutional athletics. A significant milestone was reached during the London Olympic Games held in 2012, where among the athletes who participated, 44.3% were women (Azumara, 2020). Since then, the participation of women in professional sports has continued to increase in different countries worldwide, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United States, the UK, and Brunei. The feminist movement’s second wave also significantly increased the participation of women in sports (Azumara, 2020). The movement aimed to reduce the gender inequality that was prevalent in most societies and the discrimination against women. It began at a time when there was high participation of women in sports, thus allowing them to push for involvement in professional sports and establish a career in sports. More women joined sports and started participating in the Olympic Games and high-profile sports events to gain social independence through involvement in sports activities.
Gender Discrimination in Sports
Gender discrimination is a serious issue in the sports sector. According to Deshpande (2016), the lack of gender diversity and sexism is prevalent at every level in the sports sector. One of the main areas where gender discrimination in the sports sector is prevalent is the payment of female and male athletes. Female athletes are underpaid compared to their male counterparts. A survey conducted by Black Enterprise in 2018 indicated that NBA women players would earn approximately 20% of the minimum NBA salary in the 2019-2020 season, and women rookie players would earn roughly $50,000 annually compared to a minimum starting salary of $580,000 that male players receive (Hill, 2019). Men earn more than women, playing the same position in the same league. For example, the authors found that in the NBA Pro League, male players receive an average of $7.4 million annually, whereas women players earn less than $20,000 annually (Coolkingsingh, 2020). The gender pay gap affects women’s performance in all sports, from junior to professional levels, because women are demotivated and have a high reliance on men, leading to issues such as women’s oppression. The gender pay gap also encourages toxic masculinity because men are actively involved in and are encouraged to join sports that support aggression, thus promoting the idea that aggression and violence are part of a man’s masculinity. The gender pay gap also undermines women and discourages them from joining professional sports due to the high risk of feeling exploited and worthless. Therefore, the future of women’s sports relies on closing the gender pay gap in the sports industry.
Gender discrimination in the sports industry is also evident in the promotion of women’s sports. According to Trolan (2013), the media subconsciously or consciously promotes stereotyping attitudes toward males and females. For example, the media encourages the hyper-masculinity concept through sportswear advertisements, thus creating an impression that sports are best suited for the male gender. The limited representation of women in sports women has also raised concerns about the appreciation of women in the sports industry. Lisec & McDonald (2012) argue that there is a significant difference in female and male sports media commentary where men are asked about their performance and skills while women are asked about their goals or personal life. The media also uses patriarchal messages when reporting sports news, leading to a culture of stereotypes against women that promote female players’ inferiority and oppression. The media sports reports also create a wrong assumption of women who perform better than men by portraying them as masculine. The depiction of women as masculine also makes people believe that the best women sports players use steroids, thus developing masculine bodies. The media is also quick to feature content exposing women athletes who use steroids.
Women who outperform men are also compared to other male players. For example, Sheryl Swoopes, one of the best basketball players, is compared to Michael Jordan, and some media reports refer to her as the female Michael Jordan. The stereotypical representation of women sports players is also evident in the Olympic Games. According to Organista & Mazur (2017), the Olympic Games have unequal coverage of male and female sports, where more attention is given to male sports. For example, in 2012, the US female basketball team won a gold medal for the fifth consecutive time but did not receive much coverage. The coverage was less than half a minute in the prime-time coverage. In contrast, after the men’s basketball team won the gold medal for the second consecutive time, the prime coverage was half an hour. The misrepresentation of female sports in the media is considered a leading cause of fans’ lack of interest in female sports and the increase in negative attitudes toward women’s sports. It also creates the misconception that women’s sports are not exciting and are slower than men’s, thus reducing the fan base for women’s sports.
Gender discrimination in the sports industry is also evident in the distribution of competitive opportunities. According to Azumara (2020), women have limited opportunities to compete compared to men in the same sports and leagues. The number of women’s leagues and tournaments at the national, local, and global levels is also minor compared to the opportunities accessible by male players. Meân (2014) argues that the leading cause of limited competition opportunities is the media’s trivialization of female’ sports. There are concerns about the role of online media sports in creating problems in the reproduction of conventionally gendered discussions about sports, including the asymmetry in the values followed during media production and the provisions that depict women as feminized. Therefore, there is a misconception that women’s sports have less excitement. The discrimination against women in planning tournaments is mainly influenced by the ideologies of the position of women in a society where women are held responsible for household chores. According to Trolan (2013), there is also a growing concern over issues such as lower broadcast production of values encouraging the involvement of females in sports, the misconception that women should be called by their first names without mentioning their professional success, highlighting females’ sports activities based on non-sport activities such as family, personality, and appearance and spreading statements that flatter female athletes as not working as hard as they should thus viewing them as inferior compared to male players.
Gender discrimination in the sports industry has made it hard for women to join the professional sports industry because they lack the support granted to their male counterparts. For example, most women’s sports are led by men who do not understand or ignore the women players’ needs. Notably, women hold 33% of the managerial positions within the United States Women’s National Basketball Association (Senne, 2016). Women are also less likely to hold leadership positions outside the United States, including in professional-level and volunteer sports organizations. Senne (2016) adds that the International Olympic Committee only recently embraced diversity in its leadership by ensuring that at least 20% of its leaders are women. However, 80% of the leaders in the Olympic governing bodies are men. Therefore, leadership positions in the sports industry aim to promote male leadership, thus supporting the concept of masculinity in the industry. The sports industry is also dominated by the principle restricting women’s access to leadership positions. Men also dominate the athletic director positions, which is the highest position in intercollegiate sports leading to higher success than women. The influence of power in the sports industry also makes it hard for women to acquire leadership positions in the sports industry. A study conducted by Senne (2016) on the affirmative policies in the sports industry and how they are interpreted in the industry found that male leaders acknowledge the importance of including women in leadership, but they do not show support for the changes in existing policies that limit women involvement in sports leadership by increasing their numbers in the boards. The recruitment of women for leadership positions in the sports industry is also less because women leaders in the industry are required to meet unrealistic expectations such as having no children, being well educated, holding high positions in the past, and behaving adequately based on the standards defined by the male leaders (Senne, 2016). Only a small number of women can meet all these requirements, thus making it hard to increase the number of women leaders in the sports industry. Male leaders also use power to maintain the dominance of male leadership, thus limiting the interest of women in the industry.
Conclusions and Solutions
The issue of gender discrimination in the sports industry needs to be addressed to encourage women to join professional sports and reduce the gender pay between male and female players. Addressing the issue requires focusing on the media representation of women’s sports, leadership, payment, and access to competition opportunities. Various actors within the sports industry are making vital steps toward increasing gender equality, but more needs to be done. For instance, stakeholders within the sports industry are developing women’s sports in learning institutions to encourage female players to nurture their talent and gain interest in sports. They are also creating policies to protect female players from harassment and increase the participation of women in sports leadership. Another step being taken by the actors in the sports industry is increasing the allocation of resources for women’s sports, increasing media coverage, promoting the achievements of female players, and ensuring that sports marketing is free from gender stereotypes and bias. There has been a call for implementing gender equality programs in nongovernmental and governmental organizations within the sports industry. Therefore, creating equal opportunities for male and female players at different levels may be possible.
The current measures being taken have effectively reduced gender discrimination in the sports industry, but the issue is still prevalent in professional sports, especially football and basketball. Therefore, the stakeholders need to consider alternative solutions to the issue. One of the solutions that should be considered is reducing the financing gap in female and male sports. As discussed earlier, one of the issues linked to gender discrimination in the sports industry is the gender pay gap. This gap can be closed by providing equal financial resources for women’s and men’s sports. It is also important to consider that male teams and players receive most of the television deals and sponsorships, thus giving them access to more funds than women players and teams. Many companies are reluctant to partner with female athletes, and those who do consider it a moral obligation instead of an investment, thus limiting the amount of money the athletes are paid. Therefore, women’s sports may require more financing to fund operations and support players.
The second solution that should be considered is increasing the media exposure of women’s sports. The media has put more emphasis on male sports, thus limiting exposure to women’s sports to potential fans and investors. The limited exposure reduces the funds generated by the female leagues from selling match tickets and player jerseys, thus decreasing the morale of female players and their interest in increasing their performance. The stereotypes portrayed by the media also send the wrong message about the women who participate in sports, thus limiting the number of women interested in playing professional sports. Therefore, it is important to increase positive exposure of women’s sports and players in the media to increase their participation in sports and attract talented players to join regional and national leagues that can compete in national and global tournaments. The media can also be a powerful tool for breaking the stereotypes about women by publicizing the success of women sports players and their journey to becoming the best players to help them gain fans and motivate them to continue participating in national and global tournaments. The misrepresentation of women’s sports in the media can also be eliminated by recruiting and training female reporters who can promote women’s sports.
The third solution is creating awareness of the different sportswomen can engage in and covering the success stories of female athletes who have outperformed men to eliminate the assumption that men are better athletes than women. Female athletes may be encouraged to volunteer to encourage young female players joining sports in learning institutions to focus on their strengths rather than the wrong assumption about their ability to outperform their male counterparts. Sports brands can also hire successful female athletes to share their success stories when marketing their products as part of the awareness program. Learning institutions should also be encouraged to create female teams for every sport to eliminate the assumption that sports such as football and rugby can only be played well by men. This solution can be supported by creating policies that encourage gender equality in recruiting players in professional sports and planning national and global competitions. The policies should also dictate the percentage of women who should hold leadership positions in the sports industry to encourage women to leverage leadership opportunities in the industry. Women should also be encouraged to apply for positions as coaches and team directors to help understand the needs of female players better.
Another solution that should be considered to eliminate the gender discrimination issue in the sports industry is establishing a whistleblower program to expose gender discrimination incidents within the industry. One of the main reasons why it is difficult to eliminate the issue of gender discrimination in the sports industry is that those who discriminate against female athletes can get away with it because they are not reported. Therefore, it is important to consider creating a whistleblower program that will protect players and leaders who report gender discrimination incidents within the sports industry. The program may include incentives for whistleblowers to encourage people to report and increase accountability among leaders in the industry. Stakeholders should also consider creating a platform that allows players and leaders in the sports industry to anonymously report unfair practices that could promote gender discrimination to protect players from being discriminated against. The stakeholders should collaborate with law enforcement officers to ensure that legal action is taken against those who discriminate against players based on their gender. It is also vital to ensure that fans and other stakeholders are informed about discrimination cases within the women’s sports leagues and the measures taken to handle them to deter players and leaders from engaging in discriminatory practices because they would ruin their reputations and careers.
References
Azumara, L. (2020). Sexism in Sports. CLA Journal, 8, 76-93. https://uca.edu/cahss/files/2020/07/06-Azumara-CLA-2020.pdf
Baeckström, Y. (2022). Gender inequality is in everything. Gender and Finance, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003198109-1
Coolkingsingh. (2020, July 19). Why do WNBA players earn 7 times less than their counterparts in the NBA? Medium. https://medium.com/the-sports-scientist/why-do-wnba-players-earn-7-times-less-than-their-counterparts-in-the-nba-872a82d1a364
Deshpande, V. M. (2016). Gender discrimination in sports. International Journal of Physical Education, Sports, and Health, 33, 545-547. https://www.kheljournal.com/archives/2016/vol3issue3/PartF/3-3-15-713.pdf
Hill, S. (2019, October 16). Top WNBA salaries vs. NBA salaries [2019 update]. Black Enterprise. https://www.blackenterprise.com/top-wnba-nba-salaries-2019/
Lisec, J., & McDonald, M. G. (2012). Gender inequality in the new millennium: An analysis of WNBA representations in sport blogs. Journal of Sports Media, 7(2), 153-178. https://doi.org/10.1353/jsm.2012.0019
Meân, L. J. (2014). Sports websites, embedded discursive action, and the gendered reproduction of sport. Routledge Handbook of Sport and New Media. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203114711.ch29
Organista, N., & Mazur, Z. (2017). Sports press coverage of Polish female athletes during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Studies in Sport Humanities, 22, 39-48. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0012.6522
Senne, J. (2016). Examination of Gender Equity and Female Participation in Sport. The Sport Journal, 24.
Tan, W. (2022). The impact of social media on gender inequality. Proceedings of the 2022 3rd International Conference on Mental Health, Education and Human Development (MHEHD 2022). https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220704.050
Trolan, E. J. (2013). The impact of the media on gender inequality within sport. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 91, 215-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.08.420.
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Question 
The term paper will be on a topic that falls under the History, Culture, and Social Contexts of Sport. Students will pick a topic that is meaningful and significant to them. Through research, the student will discuss why he or she agrees or disagrees with this topic. The student should research solutions as well as add his/her own solutions to the topic.
Gender Discrimination In Sports
It’s important to narrow down the focus for a research paper that is no more than 12 pages, not including the title and reference pages. For example, the use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports would be too broad a topic for this paper. More manageable topics could be the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the National Football League or a comparison of the use of performance-enhancing drugs in men’s and women’s bodybuilding.
Guidelines include:
8-12 pages (not including title page and references)
Double spaced
12 point font
Times New Roman font
1″ margin all the way around
Introduction
Review of the literature/body of the paper
Conclusions and solutions
Reference list (minimum of five references, APA Format). Please remember at least 75% of references must be from scholarly and/or primary sources, and references should be cited both at the end of the paper and in-text where they are used.
Finally, please be sure to include a title page and reference page.