Discrimination is defined as unjust treatment of different categories of people or thing while bias is defined as prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. Discrimination and bias towards people has been around for a long time all around the world and has taken large leaps towards being diminished. Although large leaps have been taken to make the world a better place and a lot of this discrimination or bias has diminished over time, many of these are still seen in everyday life. Discrimination against females has been a constant uphill battle due to the world being male dominant. Women have had to fight for many things such as freedom of speech, the right to vote, and equal rights to work. Women were expected to be stay at home moms and take care of the cleaning and raising of the children, and were not allowed to be in the work force, do things they enjoy, or even get a simple workout in. While there have been significant strides to close the gender gap for many streams in society, female discrimination in sports is a common occurrence all around the world. This bias is not just limited to comparing male and female athletes in terms of media coverage, compensation and respect for athletic accomplishments but also in all aspects of sports related endeavors for females, whether access to coaching or administrative positions, careers in sports media, or in the treatment given to women by male peers and society in general.
Even well into the 20th century, women had very little opportunity to participate in sports whether in North America or elsewhere around the world. Men could go out and be on sports teams and to go workout, but women were seen as only being able to stay at home to cook and clean the house. There were events for women to participate in but they were more focused on getting active instead of competition. These activities had no rules, no teams, it was just a way to encourage getting out and moving or being active. One big event that changed this at least in the States was the adoption of Title IX which recognized woman’s rights in physical activity. Title IX is a piece of legislation included in the Education Amendments of 1972 that requires schools that receive federal funds to provide girls and women with equal opportunity to compete in sports. After this women started building athletic clubs that would compete against other clubs in the area. While many gender equities still exist around the world, and in some areas these are related to cultural and religious beliefs (I will not delve into these as I cannot claim to be sufficient knowledgeable to comment in them), but the biggest problem is seen in athletics. Sports have been around for a long time for males but not nearly as long for female athletes. Although there has been many laws that have been set to increase women involvement in athletics we are still a long way from seeing equality in sports. Since the mid-1970s and Title 9, we have come a long way with women sports but there are still some issues that occur all around the world. Many countries don’t allow females to participate in athletics and this shows in the Olympics when comparing the number of males to females that are present. This is an ongoing problem that needs change to gain equality for women around the world. While women have the access to make a living via sports (and in some cases fairly good living), it is still nowhere on par with men's sports. In some cases, the compensation from being a female athlete, comes not from pay for their sports participation by from endorsement which often are less about them as athletes and more about them as females. There are those that might argue if our sports were made sex-blind, women would have even less opportunity to participate than at present. Given equal incentives, women would have more interest in athletics, but few would qualify at higher levels. Is this true? In some cases, where physical traits are the primary determining factor for success, perhaps. However in my opinion, gender equity in sport isn't about having women compete with and alongside men, but rather providing women with the same opportunities to compete and work in sports, and at equal or at least equitable compensation. Additionally and in some ways more importantly that they can do so, without condescension, harassment and disrespect from male counterparts of administrators. Sports continue to be seen from a male perspective and can have a bias towards the male’s point-of-view and which does not favor females. With the different sexes comes different levels of play. I have often maintained that for many sports, the female and male versions are not an issue of good level and bad level of play but two different versions of the same sport. However often, people will watch a female game in a sport ( soccer, basketball, hockey etc.) and judge the quality of play by comparing it to a men's game. Many argue that the discrepancy in opportunities, compensation and coverage is based on the fact that men's sports sells and women's doesn't where in terms of viewership, sponsorship or advertising. On any given day you are able to turn on the TV and easily find a sports channel and most of the time they would be reporting on a men’s game, but when looking for female events you have to look a little bit harder. This is because media coverage records the event that will get them the most viewers, and the world likes to focus on male sports because they believe that they are more aggressive and more talented than women which isn’t always the case. Over time the improvement of women skills in sports has been drastic and many women are just as good as many professional male players. From a purely marketing point of view, by focusing solely on male sports and male audiences, teams, corporate sponsors and media outlets are limiting their potential, they are including 50% of the population and a segment that probably has a significantly higher potential for growth. From a male who has been involved only in female sports, I have seen the gender bias up close. I can never claim to fully understand what female athletes or coaches have gone through and how it affects them but I can certainly understand the frustration. However I have experienced resources and support that being allocated equitably for women's soccer even when the female teams are significantly more successful than the male teams. I have in on meetings and watched male teams and programs get disproportionate level of support simply on the basis (and perception) that people what to see men's sports succeed and that no one cares about women's sport. Why is this issue so important to me, being a male? Yes, in part because of my years working in women's sport has sensitized me to the reality, because I have seen and heard the disappointment felt by my female athletes seeing comparable male athletes getting recognition, resources and compensation that largely surpasses their accomplishments. However, I think, I have taken on the responsibility to talk about simply because I think it is the right thing to do. I want to be known for someone who believes in gender equity.
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AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
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