Over the last few years, we have seen a number of examples of female athletes, US hockey, US soccer, Danish soccer , the Matilda, Australia's women soccer team, campaigning, advocating, boycotting tours or games in order to be recognized as professional athlete's and receive compensation that is equitable with that of male counterparts. As an observer, I don't think that these athletes are asking to be paid the same as men but to be paid on equitable terms and in a manner that in consistent with the revenue their events or sports generate.
There remain two very start realities in women's sports, they are under represented at all levels, participants, coaches and administrators and of course very under paid. Take a tour of many of the so-called professional athletes in many sports and I am pretty sure that you will discover that for many, in various countries, do not meet the respective countries minimum wage standards and many of these same athletes are unable to find alternative employment due to playing and training schedules. During the negotiations between the US women's national soccer team and the US Federation, there were two numbers that constantly circulated and made the news, one to show the huge inequity between the women's and men's team, and the second as an overall picture of the two realities between the World Cups were; The US women’s national team won $US2 million for winning the Women’s World Cup. The US men were knocked out in the first round yet took home $US8 million and the total prize pool for the Women’s World Cup: $US15 million; the Men’s: $US576 million. The problem lies in the market size for each competition. The total revenue for the Women’s World Cup was just $US17 million compared to $US529 million for the men’s competition. The difference is due to interest of fans and sponsors in women’s versus men’s soccer. Why is the women’s tournament far less supported? It would be rash to suggest that men’s soccer is more interesting or better quality, this is simply not true. *** small note, these are figures I was able to find thanks to the power of google search Society accepts that men’s sports are dominant and therefore more interesting which mean men’s sports receive more funding, better sponsorship deals, more coverage and greater ticket sale revenue. Few sports, if any, have equal pay or even prize money for men and women competitors. Most women's sports lack major television contracts and for the most part are event driven, a world championship, a major tennis tournament, or as part of the Olympics. Here in North America, women's hockey is followed quite substantially anytime US and Canada play, but how can we call that quality sport when every competition ends up with the same two teams playing each other in the end and yet others where there is parity and competitive balance throughout are written off as boring or not " as good ". In a majority of countries, if you were able to pull out statistics, I would be comfortable if throwing a guess that I think might be pretty close to factual, that women might feature in less than 10% to 15% of sports programming and it might be declining, Girls and young women, leave sports earlier than boys and men. I think if we are honest, we can state that the gender gap is not only present, it is increasing. This problem not only impacts the women in sport, but fails to represent competitive women who win and who lead in the media and to the general population. As boys grow up, they watch their idols and role models in sport competing and winning and many go on to play sport and are encouraged to. Girls do not. They are rarely given female role models who are not afraid to be competitive, confident and strong leaders. There is a vicious circle between the demand for women’s sports, revenue and salaries. Lack of demand and low television coverage means lower revenues from marketing and sponsorship and lower salaries. As a result, the ability of the teams both financially and skill/training wise is lower and so the women's' teams cannot compete in tours so receive less coverage. In addition, the media coverage differs greatly between the genders. Male athletes are idolized for their skill and strength whereas female athletes are more likely to be judged on their appearance or personal life. This double standard devalues the achievements of women and reinforces gender stereotypes and discrimination of women. The sporting world bears many parallels to that of businesses and industry. Whilst there are initiatives to increase the number of women on executive boards and in positions of leadership and responsibility, few exist in sport and those that do are not that successful. Having more women on sporting boards, as with any executive boards, is likely to lead to less cheating and corruption. This is not because women are more ethical. It is because women tend to bring diversity to a board and the greater the diversity (in terms of not just gender but culture and backgrounds also), the greater the mix of ideas and opinions. A panel that is diverse will not settle for the status quo and will not be afraid to ask questions and question practices. Sport and sporting coverage teaches women and girls who grow up with sporting role models valuable lessons that can be transferred to life, especially in the work place. The first lesson is that it is ok to fail. Society teaches women that in a competitive work place you cannot fail and therefore you should not try. However sport, even the primary school message of ‘it’s the taking part that counts’, teaches women that you should enjoy healthy competition and learn from losses and gain from wins. Sport can influence body confidence. Not just in health terms, and the benefits gained from participating in sport, but an ability to understand the parts of the body that make you strong and give you an advantage in a particular sport. In order to achieve your goals you need to work hard for it. Through tough training of elite athletes to a bi-weekly trip to the gym, hard work is required to gain success. This is mirrored in the work place, and women who engage in sport realise and believe that success in their goals is ultimately in their control. Finally, sport teaches teamwork, not the teamwork where everyone gets along all the time, no work gets done and no-one is afraid to speak up. The teamwork that comes from questioning people’s opinions, an awareness of your own weaknesses and appreciating others’ strengths and the ability to not only compromise but have tough conversations. Many women are afraid of being the ‘bitch’ however in most, if not all, team working situations, someone has to put themselves out there to get work done. In sport, it is impossible to avoid this in order to succeed. We need to work to get more women involved in sport and the media coverage to not only increase but focus on the sporting achievements rather than objectify women and judge them on their appearance. We need role models for young girls and women alike, like we need role models in many industries, to encourage participation as the benefits from sport, go so much further than the simple but important health benefits. Additionally, this doesn't just benefit younger girls but also boys who will see women in leadership roles and as role models and see that women have their place leading. They will grow up seeing women on an equal footing as males ( ok maybe this is wishful thinking but can it hurt or be worse that things are now). Most importantly, for corporate sponsors, investing in women's sports and targeting women in sport with their promotion is actually smart business as well as be right. I previously posted about smart reason to invest in women's sport ( see this link) investing-in-womens-sports-a-smart-move.html Sport is a powerful influence on society, so it should reflect a reality of equity and equality... in my humble and probably biased opinion.
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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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