Sexism in Sports
Organized sports events have come a long way historically and rendered unity in society—barriers of racism and prejudice were broken. However, gender inequality has remained a prominent problem in sports communities. Women have been repeatedly fighting for equal rights in sports for many years.
Gender inequality in sports
Sexism in sports has not stopped in recent times. A longitudinal study that lasted for 25 years has found that local news only spent 3% of their airtime reporting women’s sports. Since 1912, the Olympics have included the men’s decathlon but women can only compete in the 7-event heptathlon, leaving the 10-event decathlon restricted to men even now. In 2019, 28 players on the United States women’s soccer team filed a lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation, stating that female players received less pay even though they had played and won more games than the men’s team.
Significant historical events
One of the first significant changes in the positions of men and women in sports occurred in 1967. At that time, women were not allowed to participate in the Boston Marathon, but Kathrine Switzer ran under a shortened name to hide her gender. Despite almost being ejected by an official during the race, she finished the race and became the first female participant officially. Women were finally allowed to enter the race in 1972.
Another turning point of gender equality in sports is when Billie Jean King founded the Women's Tennis Association in 1973. Female players got to earn equal prize money in competitions that have both male and female participants.
In 2018 Ada Hegerberg became the first person to win the women’s Ballon d’Or, a prestigious football award that was previously only exclusive to male receivers. This marks a crucial development in accepting more women into the sports communities.
Sexism in sports in Hong Kong
In March 2021, Happy Valley head coach Pau Ka-Yiu accused Hong Kong Premier League’s first woman referee of being incompetent. He claimed that she cannot “keep up with the whole match”. He critiqued how Gigi Law, the female referee, was not “physically strong”. Hong Kong women footballers had called for an apology from Pau. Though Pau and Happy Valley Football Club apologized for the comments, they did not directly address the sexist remarks, leaving room for doubt regarding the sincerity of the apology.
The next steps
The journey of fighting for gender equality in sports continues. As Nelson Mandela said, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little does.” The fundamental purpose of holding sports events—uniting people, no matter their gender, race or other diversities—should never be forgotten. We must continue to advocate and raise awareness in order to come closer to achieving gender equality in sports.
Sources:
Writer: Jessica Leung
Editor: Shen Tan
Thumbnail: Pihu Agarwal
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