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Issues of Gender-Based Inequality in Sports
Billie Jean King. Photo credit: Britannica.com.
issues of genDer-baseD inequaliTy
in sPorts
- Billie Jean King
Women in the Olympics
The modern Olympic Games began in 1894 and were only reserved for men. Women were added to the docket in 1900, but only in sports that were considered inline with their “femininity and fragility” such as tennis, sailing, equestrian events, croquet, and golf. The Women’s Sports Federation began lobbying for equality for women in the Olympics and Women’s Olympiads were organized from 1922-1934 in order to put pressure on the International Olympic Committee. Progress slowly moved along as the century continued, but in 2007 the Olympic Charter included mandatory presence of women in all sports.
Title IX: Breaking Down Educational Barriers
In 1972, Title IX legislation stated: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
In the fifty years since the passage of Title IX, opportunities for women to participate in sports at the K-12 and collegiate level have grown immensely. Before the legislation, many schools did not offer sports for women or offered more limited or only intramural options for female athletes. Title IX has served as a tool for those fighting against discrimination of women athletes from the inequality seen in benefits for NCAA Tournament basketball teams to availability of women’s sports to equality for transgender athletes.
The Wage Gap
Soccer star and activist Megan Rapinoe speaks to Congress on Equal Pay Day 2021. Photo credit: ABC News.
The fight for pay equity for women in athletics is an ongoing struggle, most recently highlighted by campaigns spearheaded by Megan Rapinoe and the World Cup-winning US Women’s Soccer team. According to Forbes, the only sport in which women have earnings comparable to their male counterparts is in tennis, and that is often because of high profile endorsement and sponsorship deals, not prize money. In team sports, where earnings come from salaries in addition to endorsements and prize money, the discrepancy is stark.
The past several years have been a watershed moment in the fight for equal treatment and pay equity. In 2019, Team USA soccer filed lawsuits against their governing organization and the organization responded with claims that, “WNT and MNT players do not perform equal work requiring equal skill, effort
and responsibility under similar working conditions.” The team has not backed down. WNBA players recently came to an unprecedented labor agreement guaranteeing them improved pay and health benefits. In May of 2019, 175 players left the National Women’s Hockey League to protest low wages. In early 2021, Megan Rapinoe spoke with President and Dr. Biden about equal pay as well as testified in front of a House Oversight Committee on pay discrepancies between men and women.
The Fight for Equality for Transgender Women Athletes
Protestors march to support trans athletes. Photo credit: Associated Press. Side-by-side of Women’s and Men’s weight rooms at 2021 NCAA basketball tournament. Photo credit: Instagram @kersner.ali.
The fight started years ago on the professional front by athletes such as Renée Richards and Mianne Bagger has come to the forefront in school sports recently, especially over the past year. During 2021, over 35 bills were introduced by state legislatures around the country meant to limit athletic opportunities for transgender girls and women. Many of these bills indicate that only those “assigned female at birth” or with “female genital and sex characteristics” should be allowed to play sports on girls’ or women’s teams. While proponents of the bills argue that they protect cisgender competitors and equal the playing field, opponents see the bills as a violation of the rights of not only transgender girls and women, but all athletes, especially considering that some bills allow for “physical inspections” of private areas of the bodies of minor children. The bills take away the rights of transgender, non-binary, and intersex children and adults who simply want to compete against their peers.
NCAA March Madness Controversy
In 2021, the inequality between women’s and men’s teams was brought to the forefront of the public eye when social media posts emerged from teams playing in the NCAA March Madness tournaments. Athletes on the women’s teams posted photos and videos of the facilities, food, and other “amenities” provided to their teams in comparison to those provided to the men’s teams. Some examples that were highlighted included an expansive weight room and equipment for the men’s teams versus one small rack of weights and yoga mats for the women’s teams, overflowing “swag” bags from the NCAA and sponsors for the men versus much smaller and lower value bags for the women, and catered buffet style food for the men versus school lunch style options for the women. The public attention brought to the stark differences forced NCAA to acknowledge the discrepancies in treatment of the different teams, but initially the organization tried to downplay the inequity.
Women in Major League Baseball
In April of 2021, ESPN published an extensively researched article about women working for MLB. While 2020-2021 saw some groundbreaking firsts for baseball with the hiring of Kim Ng as Marlins GM and Bianca Smith (formerly of Waukesha’s own Carroll University) as a coach for the Red Sox minor league organization, there is still so much further to go. Ng has been working in baseball for thirty years, and yet there are numerous men in their 20s and 30s who have risen to the GM position in recent years with much less history in the field. In 2020, only 225 out of the over 4,900 baseball operations roles were held by women. Many women working in baseball indicate that at best many male colleagues don’t know how to relate to them or work with them, and at worst men harass and discriminate against them. Even the most basic things like bathroom facilities are often overlooked for women in baseball organizations. MLB is trying to rectify this situation and grow through the hiring of Michele Meyer-Shipp as their first Chief People and Culture Officer who is working to find ways to even the playing field. Women working for MLB are still skeptical.
