Gender equality in sports is essential for women and girls to enjoy the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits of sport. Yet sexism continues to hinder access, deter participation and undermine performance. Taking the right steps towards gender equity requires awareness, advocacy and action at all levels.
One of the most important measures is to ensure equal funding for women’s sports. Men’s teams usually receive the lion’s share of sponsorship and television contracts, resulting in less funding for women’s clubs and athletes. The result is that women often feel undervalued and pushed aside, leading to feelings of exclusion and low self-esteem (Kooy et al, 2019).
Another measure is to ensure equal media coverage for both men’s and women’s sports. This can be achieved by promoting and encouraging media outlets to create platforms dedicated to women’s sports, promoting female athletes and creating partnerships with them to share content and promote the value of women’s sports (Jeanes et al, 2022).
Moreover, it is essential to understand that inequity goes beyond gender and must take into account the intersection of multiple identity factors. These include socio-economic status, citizenship status, ethnicity, sexual orientation and ability (Jeanes et al, 2022).
Another key measure is to promote positive initiatives that challenge discrimination, such as ensuring that all promotional materials are free from gender stereotypes and that female and minority athletes are portrayed positively on social media. It is also crucial to support whistleblowers, ensuring that they can do so without fear of reprisals and that their identity is kept confidential (Cooky & Antunovic, 2022). In addition, the promotion of a culture of inclusiveness in sports and physical activity environments is a good way to reduce discrimination and encourage women and girls to participate.
