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Essay on womens participation in sport
The pay gap between men and women in sports
Women in the world of sport
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Identities, Impacts, and Outcomes for Women in Sport
Shenique D. Pharr
Salem College
Women in sport are not only an identity for women who compete across the country, but it is a motivation boost for women throughout sports and a confidence booster as well. There are many important factors that define the women in sport society. For example, Title IX states that “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 (20 U.S.C. Section 1681 (a), (2011).” This was the right that gave women the open hand into the sports world, and paved the way for the successes
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Billy Jean King was the woman who received equal pay. Serena and Venus Williams are two women that removed the idea that your physical appearance has to be a certain way to do what you love, and showed emotions during matches which shocked society. These are all attributions that set made way for the view of women in sports today. However, just like there are women who are known for this, there are many who went …show more content…
There are many athletes and coaches who formulate the idea of women in sport, and give the culture an uplifting outlook on athletes who are women and competitors.
Sports, for both genders, have deviation, especially when considering equal pay, and equal media attention. There are possible solutions that can increase equality in order for us to live in a society that celebrates and values women’s past, present, and potential contributions to sport. Although there are barriers, there are commodities that can be adjusted in order to seek changes in all sports.
The pay in Men’s and Women’s basketball varies tremendously. Beginning with Collegiate sports, male students get 55 percent of athletic scholarships, leaving females to fight it out for the remaining 45 percent. Though women on average make up 57 percent of collegiate athletes, they only receive 43 percent of participation opportunities. Unsurprisingly, women teams receive only thirty-three percent of recruitment funding. (Hope Racine, n.p) After viewing numbers, the outcome of women competing in a collegiate sport is higher than males. Then it is narrowed down much more. In collegiate sports, there are three division levels. Division one provides full scholarship, Division two provides up to at least partial scholarships, and Division three receives
Title IX and the Education Amendments of 1972 were created to defend equal opportunities for women of all ages. Since its inception 44 years ago, women have seen impressive strides as well as disappointing failures. Social prejudice continues to exist limiting female participation opportunities, benefits for female athletes, coaching opportunities, and increased exposure to sexual assault and abuse. Few institutions treat female athletes equally due to the lack of enforcement by collegiate athletic departments. The enforcement of Title IX has not been a priority among far too many educational institutions leaving women open to discrimination and mistreatment.
It goes without saying that a person's gender, racial and social origins influence their participation in sports. Particular races and genders often dominate certain sports. African Americans, for example, tend to dominate football and basketball, while Caucasians tend to dominate ice hockey. The same holds true for gender as well. Football is an entirely male dominated sport, while horseback riding, gymnastics and figure skating are much more female oriented. How and why did these divisions come about? Determining the origin of gender goes beyond the scope of this paper, however one can speculate about how gender classifications and stereotypes affect one's role in the sports arena.
The enactment of this Title has significantly changed the playing field for athletic departments through out the nation by altering their funding systems to comply with its rules. As a result, women have benefited greatly. There have been additions of female sports as well as an increase of the number of scholarships awarded to female athletes, and also a lot more funding to provide more “equitable” facilities for them. According to the NCAA Gender Equity Studies , “from 1992 to 1997 NCAA institutions have increased the number of female athletes by 5,800. But tragically during that time these colleges also eliminated 20,900 male athletes.” (Kocher p.1) This dramatic landslide has occurred because athletic departments are under pressure to rapidly increase the proportion of female athletes by whatever means necessary. As the path toward complete “equality” gradually brightens for women in college athletics, a dark path is now becoming evident. Male athletes, in a sense, are now being discriminated against because of Title IX.
Since 1972, sports have slowly undergone major changes that prove well today. Title IX has helped girls and women have more of an advantage on the athletic fields. “The Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 says that no person in the United States, based on gender, can be excluded from participating, denied benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any educational program.” (Athletics). It allows for both men and women to play sports whether it is a girl on the football or wrestling team, a boy cheerleading, or even gymnastics. Title IX builds confidence, has helped women have a chance in sports, and has equal opportunities for both sexes.
Gender discrimination is prominent in every industry, but it is as though the sport industry is one of the worst. Women in the work force currently receive only 80 cents to every man’s dollar (Holmes, 2016). However, female athletes both in America and internationally receive a far lesser compensation for their attributes. The only difference of the sports being played is who plays them. There should be no reason why a male athlete receives better pay simply because he had a 50% chance of being born a man. At birth, no one controls the gender, but as they grow and mature, they control their personality and development. Payment should be on personal skills and not gender. As a female STHM student focusing on sport management and a former athlete,
Over two decades have passed since the enactment of Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded education, including athletics. As a result of Title IX, women and girls have benefited from more athletic participation opportunities and more equitable facilities. Because of Title IX, more women have received athletic scholarships and thus opportunities for higher education that some may not have been able to afford otherwise. In addition, because of Title IX the salaries of coaches for women's teams have increased. Despite the obstacles women face in athletics, many women have led and are leading the way to gender equity.
The discrepancies in media coverage in coverage of female and children athletics have large gaps, but are gaining momentum in sharing equality. Major athletic leagues such as the NBA and FIFA World Cup have wide gaps in marketing and ratings for their male and female athletes. Children are future athletes and superstars, but as funding and coverage in athletics caters to the males, women are breaking the barriers to being in the spotlight of sport. Both genders contribute equally to athletics, and challenge the each other to accept new ideas and change. The sports world that has a single gender dominating the media is unjust.
Women in sports demand quality assurance for their hard work. Sad to say this is not implemented in the sports “world” of women. “One of the theories behind this is that society doesn’t like to see women in roles that go against the norm of what a woman “should be” (Rodriguez).” Fortunately this stems from ignorance and prejudice beliefs. Especially through the media, both of which can be learned. The media can alter sports viewer’s opinions by relaying positive messages toward women’s sports. As well as sports authoritators distributing equal pay for equal work. The abundant amount of support that the media and viewers allocate will allow a higher amount of equality for women in the sports industry. This kind of support will lead women in sports salaries rise and eventually match the hardship of achievements as a minority in today’s sports
The majority of sporting events shown in the media are of male-dominated sport such as hockey, football, and basketball. Yet there isn 't much media attention on women in sport. A prime example of the lack of support for women in sport is the Olympic Games, in the 1908 London games, there was only 2% of female athletes. Although this number has increased drastically over the last century, there is still a disproportionate number of male to female athletes competing in today 's sporting
Gender in sports has been a controversial issue ever since sports were invented. In the early years, sports were played only by the men, and the women were to sit on the sidelines and watch. This was another area of life exemplifying the sexism of people in which women were not allowed to do something that men could. However, over the last century in particular, things have begun to change.
If professional leagues do not increase revenue it will be difficult to increase pay for their athletes. In time this can turn into losing their athletes because they are not receiving equal compensation for their contribution compared to the men. A limitation is the league will find it difficult to increase the equity for each female athlete if they do not increase the fan base to contribute to the ticket sales, vendors, team products, etc. I recommend that professional women’s leagues need to find a way to expand their fan base to the collegiate market. Women’s Final Four attendance had five times the attendance as an average Women’s NBA game.
Although the difference between male and female may merely be two letters; in sports it means millions of dollars. Sports and athletics are an influential part of many people’s lives. From a young age, boys and girls are raised around sports; some of these little stars continue on with their passions to become professional athletes. Sadly, today only one group of these people are respected how they deserve to be. A portion of these athletes, more specifically women athletes, are facing unfair discrimination.
Title IX is a law that requires high schools and colleges to give the same amount of money to both girls and boys sports in an attempt to make the genders equal. However, instead of simply equalizing the two sides, this law provides more scholarships for women because they are still competing in fewer sports than men. This will usually peak the parent’s interest, making them believe that there are plenty of scholarships out there for their daughters. Unfortunately this is not exactly true. As Lester Munson, an associate editor at Sports Illustrated, explains it (in an article by Brendan Tierney), “This is the theory that many parents have that if they start their child young enough, and work him or her hard enough, that he or she will get a college scholarship or become a professional athle...
What is quantity without quality? And, to further this inequality, it isn’t only seen in High Schools but through all levels. Statistics from the Women’s Sports Foundation show that there is an extensive difference between male and female athletes who are offered professional opportunities. “Even though female students comprise 57% of college student populations, female athletes received only 43% of participation opportunities at NCAA schools which is 63,241 fewer participation opportunities than their male counterparts.” (NCAA 2014)
Women entering the world of sports were aware that they were placing themselves in a male dominated field. With their entrance into the sporting world, these women have opened themselves. up to many different criticisms and to the possibility of exploitation. within the media and from male authority figures. Women in sports are constantly striving for equality where hegemonic masculinity in social Sporting institutions value male athleticism at the expense of female.