It’s 2016 and we still suffer from gender discrimination, especially in sports.
Unfortunately, women’s achievements in sports are often underrated, or they get discriminated for not ‘staying in the kitchen’; and it is something that we don’t talk about enough.
Here are three reasons as to why gender inequality in football is a serious problem:
Men get paid way more than women – for the same thing
In Newstatesman, Tim Wigmore writes that the best-paid female English player, Steph Houghton makes about £65,000 a year, while English player Wayne Rooney makes almost five times that amount, about £300,000 a week.
The wage gap right there is dreadful, because Steph Houghton captains both Manchester City and the England women’s national football team. Lesser known female players are worse off, they make only about £50-per-week.
This means that these professional players might actually have to take on another job to sustain themselves.
People care less about women’s achievements – in the same sport
Women’s sports, for some reason, does not get as much coverage as the men’s sports does. Female athletes also get less attention, compared to men.
Do you know Michael Phelps? Good. Do you know Katie Ledecky? Precisely our point. Both are record-breaking swimmers and Olympic gold medallists. Tennis is one of the very few sports that highlight women as much as men, most other sports still leave women underrated no matter how hard they work.
This lack coverage affects also their revenue, which means women athletes do not get same wages, quality of coaching and facilities enjoyed by their male counterparts.
People still think sports is a man thing
This is a widely used excuse to refute the first two points. Why are women doing a man thing and how dare they demand equality? Well, the same way men also cook and become celebrity chefs.
Sports is not something that is gender specific. And David Beckham agrees with us, when he was asked about his daughter’s interest in football.
“Football should never be known as a man’s sport,” Beckham said in an interview. His 5-year old daughter Harper is already showing an early passion for football, and he supports that. But not everyone is as lucky as Little Miss Beckham.
A few months back, some Czech players told a female referee to return to the ‘stove’ after she failed to notice an offside. Male referees have made that mistake too, but the consequences aren’t that insulting.
So what can we do about it?
Awareness. Ideas. Discourse.
Poet, basketball player and coach Asma Elbadawi is a champion of equality in sports, and she will be in town this weekend. She shot to fame after campaigning for the International Basketball Federation to allow players in turbans, hijabs, and other religious headgear to play at all levels of basketball.
She will also be giving her insight on media’s portrayal of women and the language used to describe women in sports.
Come and let your voice be heard if you have ever experienced discrimination in sports. The event will take place this Sunday 20th November, 8.30 pm onwards at Minut Init art social in Uptown Damansara.
Other posts by Gowri Krishnan
