Gender Inequality in sports is an issue as old as sport itself. I choose this topic because we as a society seem to sweep it under the rug time after time. Women in sports however, try to address the issue only to have it go on deaf ears, leaving them to continue in the sport hoping something will change. Over the last few decades, strides have been made, but he sport remains an institution dominated by men. These women, whether they are in sport or in the business world, want a fair chance to be on the same level as their male counterparts. If society stops to understand the struggles these women have been facing for decades will have a clearer picture of what steps to take in order to make a change in the sports industry. Men need to put their masculinity aside and advocate giving women a voice. The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues women in the sport world have faced through history, wage gaps, current issues today, and to discuss findings and recommendations for future research. Title IX is a law that came into effect in 1972, this comprehensive federal law prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. Eventually this law was used to create more opportunities for women in sports. This did increase women’s participation in sports significantly, but women still faced criticism and scrutiny. Furthermore, men stereotyped women as not “being good enough” to play sports, labeling them as weak, fragile, and
Although Wells and Marbella suggest that men’s sports are being hurt because of Title IX, Goodale establishes that Title IX is not negatively impacting men’s athletics and is necessary for colleges to follow. Title IX, a 40-year law establishing equal opportunity for women has not negatively impacted men’s sports, as clarified in “40 Years Later, Title IX is Still Fighting Perception it Hurt Men’s Sports” by Gloria Goodale. First and foremost, sports like Football and Basketball take up a majority of a college budget for men’s sports, and when colleges cut minor teams such as baseball or tennis Title IX is unfairly blamed. A large amount of colleges decide to limit men’s athletic to large money-making sports such as football or basketball
The legislation aimed to equalize the playing field by increasing funding and support for women in education. Title IX was not enacted to allow more women to play sports but to ensure that the women has equal access to education opportunities across the educational field. Indeed, the only mention of sports during congressional debates was “Oh, maybe now when a school holds its field day, there will be more activities for the girls.” (qtd. in Wulf)
In the first place, to address the ratio between boys and girls sport activity, the gap is closing. In fact, in 1970 female participation was nearly 0 percent in high school sports then by 1980 it rose to 50 percent and in 2000 increased another 20 percent (par. 5). That is extraordinary change, however it is not because if the institute of title IX but instead it is the result of a major culture shift within the United States and had nothing to do with title IX. Back in the 1970s girls weren’t prevented from playing sports but it was a stigma of females in
Title IX was signed into law in 1972 and it required equality for male and female students in each educational program and activity that received federal funding. This means that universities had to offer sports that women could participate in. The reasons Title IX came into being was a demand from Women’s Rights organizations for equal opportunities. Prior to 1972, sports, competition, and many other university programs were generally considered to be masculine and “ not ladylike.”
Lucky now women athletes are able to to sports without much trouble at all. Funnily the word sport is not even in the law. (Title IX and Gender [50-6:40]). And any failure to the law You may go to the supreme court (Title IX) But women are not aloud to try out for the men's team and if the sport they want to play is not available they may try for the men's team.
It is unfathomable in modern society for an African American woman to be forced to sit on the back of a public bus. It is unfathomable in modern society for a Hispanic man to be denied service in an establishment. It is unfathomable in modern society for a state to deny a homosexual couple a marriage license. So why is such a vast discrepancy between the wages of male and female athletes still acceptable? The type of rigorous, unstoppable advocacy used to gain support for the civil rights movement, the legalization of gay marriage, and the enactment of stricter gun legislation needs be applied to this issue along with increased media coverage of the gender wage gap in professional sports, improvements to the Equal Pay Act, more legislation that benefits female athletes like Title IX, and ultimately the unwavering belief that equality is a human right guaranteed to both women and men and the standard by which both athletes need to be
In the articles “40 Years Later, Title IX Is Still Fighting Perception It Hurt Men’s Sports” by Goodale and “Title IX Under Fire As Colleges Cut Teams” by Marbella and Wells, the authors discuss Title IX and the effects it has on sports. Both Miller and Marbella and Wells mention Title IX as a law put in place to protect young women’s dreams of sports in college by forcing colleges to have their sports’ teams gender proportionality match their school’s gender proportionality. As the law came into effect, women’s teams in colleges were set up and flourished to meet women’s interests and the law’s requirements (Marbella and Wells). Over the years, colleges cut back on men’s sports instead of adding more women’s teams.
People do not realize that women have the potential to play any sport that a man can play, with equal skill, if not better. If it were not for Title IX women and men would not have achieved amazing goals on and off the playing field. Women deserved every bit of what they earned and even more. Men and women were both given the same amount of opportunities, but somehow the women were still not treated the
There are many differences between the way the media portrays men’s and women’s sports. Looking at past media publications of sports, women were rarely featured. Though that has changed, there is still a distinct difference between the two genders. Whether it is print media, television, radio, or social media, men’s sports dominates all mediums. With coverage increasing, it still doesn’t show any improvement in how female sports are represented.
It is evident that equality and equity between genders, males and females, has had its struggles. This struggle to promote fairness has been expressed through various mouvements such as from the suffragettes emerging in the late 20th and early 21st century, and the recent He for She movement to bring both genders to work together as one. Despite these efforts, in the hockey world, male domination inhibits female athletic success to reach such high level. This is displayed through history, funds and media. Earlier times imposed that women work less on their athleticism.
The gap between men and women has always seemed to be prevalent in our world it seems like it. From working wages to basic rights, women always seem to not be considered equal to men. In professional sports, for example, female athletes are paid less than their male counterparts, even if they execute better than them. "I cannot think of any other industry that has such a wage gap, really. Depending on country context and sport, a man can be a billionaire and a woman [in the same discipline] cannot even get a minimum salary" (Beatrice Frey, sport partnership manager at UN Women).
Despite the many efforts to break gender define boundaries, the media is the ultimate deciding factor. Women who are in sports are not being covered as equally as men in sports, and when they are, females are being depicted negatively and their athletic abilities are insignificant in
Determining whether equality is going to be in professional sports will only come in the matter of time. It is something all women have to help each other out in. After taking a poll on the King’s College campus 85% of men I have asked mentioned that women should not have an equal pay as man do in the professional athletics. This shows that others do not believe that women should have the same benefits as men. Women put in just a much hard work as men.
For example, Title IX has empowered women not only in sports, but also in education and work. Marj Snyder, chief program officer of the Women's Sports Foundation, stated the number of women undergraduates before Title IX was a mere 35% ,and now the number has risen to 57% (Nauen). The rising number of female undergraduates is a direct correlation to Title IX, this proves the that Title IX has changed lives of women on and off the field. Correspondingly, in a report of the twenty-five years with Title IX, the Department of educations states that “the critical values learned from sports participation--including teamwork, standards, leadership, discipline, self-sacrifice, and pride in accomplishment -- are being brought to the workplace as women enter employment in greater numbers” (qtd. In Nauen).
“Female discrimination in sports is a common occurrence all around the world, women are seen as less than males.” (Ladrea) Equality in sports is unequal. In the 1800 women got very little attention and did not get the opportunity to play in any sport in America and all around the world. Men could go and try out for different sports teams and workout but for women they were only allowed to stay home to cook and clean. There were some events women could participate in but it could not be competitive, it was focused on getting active and staying active.