Gender Inequality In Sports Research Paper
Gender Inequality in Sports
Journals of Reflection
Sociology AND 1021
Professor Lauren Barr
26th March 2014
Basil Agyekum
Sociology
Journal #1 - Discussion of Both Genders Growing up my parents thrust me into organized basketball leagues and by the time I was fifteen I was on my high school basketball team. Even though I was just a young teenager I could notice the greater amount of effort, time and attention given to young boys in comparison to young girls. I can confidently say the girls I saw in our development program were as talented as the guys. This has engineered my interest in the gender bias in sports. My first impression of professional sports is that there is a clear divide at how female athletes are …show more content…
treated as compared to male athletes, as a consequence leading to female sports being undervalued and underappreciated. The Webster 's dictionary describes gender as “that which designates the sexes”; and discrimination as “unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice. Gender bias or discrimination in pro sports goes all the way back to the year 1896 where the founder of the Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin said, “No matter how toughened a sportswoman may be, her organism is not cut out to sustain certain shocks.” Statistics have proven that post secondary institutions spend three times more on athletic scholarships, recruiting and general accommodations on male student athletes. I see things from the liberal feminist perspective when it comes to gender inequality. I believe that the gender inequality issue can be solved by giving women equal chances and opportunities in a male dominated society. High school, college and professional sports systems are structured differently in terms of both genders. The current structures in place at high schools and colleges are frail and unfair denying women the chance to participate in sports considered to be for men, budgets for sports programs being unfairly distributed . When I think of gender discrimination and professional sports one of the first things I think is wages and the gap between both genders and the amount of coverage given to male sports over female sports by the media. Through personal experience and observations I’ve made throughout the years I feel like I understand the topic well in enough to voice my opinion. It has made me ask myself the question over and over again; What kind of influence does gender inequality have on organized sports? In my second journal I will explore and investigate both the political and social structures of professional sports. Finally, I will discuss what I have found, and learned from the probable future of professional sports.
Journal #2 - Investigating Gender Inequality I have noticed there is a very clear divide between male and female sports. So many times I have seen occurrences where female athletes are treated unfairly and unjustly. There are many reasons why society may have adopted these conceptions over the years. One of these factors has been the general notion that women cannot endure the same amount of physicality men can endure in sporting activities creating the belief that if men and women were to compete against each other men would have a competitive advantage over their female contender. It was, and to some extent still is, believed that there may be more physical danger to a female who is competing in a contact sport that includes males than to a female competing solely against other females. Second, there is a belief that males would dominate the female programs and deny the females the opportunity to participate in the activities if the males were allowed to compete against each other. These beliefs have made it very difficult for women to follow some of their passions and dreams. One implication of this is the amount of wages paid to professional female athletes is significantly lower than the amount paid to male athletes as illustrated in the first journal the gap between Tiger Woods and Maria Sharapova is enormously different. The other day I was looking up the highest paid athletes in the world and what spot the highest paid woman would feature on the Forbes list; Maria Sharapova turned out to be the highest paid female athlete placing twenty second on the list making twenty-nine million and Tiger Woods on top of the list making an staggering seventy-eight million a year forty-nine million more than Sharapova. significantly lower than male athletes. The divide is at such an extreme now that women 's sports are both verbally and visually set apart a typical example are the acronyms used in basketball for the different leagues under the same governing power. Basketball’s governing body is known as the NBA (National Basketball Association) it regulates both male and female basketball pros but for whatever the reason women 's basketball has been named differently as the WNBA (Womens National Basketball Association) making it seem as though they are two totally different association. Gender discrimination is still awfully present in high school athletics. An athletic compliance audit was conducted in Portland and nearing high schools where gender discriminations were identified and documented. There were issues with providing equal and adequate equipment for the girls, “Girls teams have no locker rooms or showers where they play softball, at Payson Park, while boys teams use the facilities where they play baseball, at Hadlock Field, home of the Portland Sea Dogs.” Bouchard(2011). As well as questionable allocation of funding . “Many booster groups don 't provide complete or accurate financial reports to the school district, so it 's impossible to determine whether the thousands of dollars they raise is being spent fairly among boys and girls teams.” Bouchard(2011). This information helps us to understand the severity of the issue I find it hard to understand why accommodations were made for the boys and not for the girls . Most schools don 't say, but their sports programs seem to support the well being and development of male athletes. Financing female sports is another major issue that needs to be addressed. Budgets are provided to high school and college sports programs each year, to be distributed evenly or according to needs across to the different sporting disciplines but the money never seems to be available for the young female athletes the subsequent implications to this are; leading to a failure to produce elite female athletes and females are deprived from engaging . This is because without proper investment and resources young female athletes will not have the chance to do what they want to do and potentially drop interest in the sport. The majority of the coaches and head of development programs for the high schools and colleges are from the generation X so, old fashioned stereotypes will and most likely have an influences on their decisions. “Prior to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, parents unknowingly perpetuated masculine and feminine stereotypes. They were taught by their parents, key influencers in schools and communities, and the media, that girls shouldn 't play sports or weren 't interested in sports.” Lopiano(2004). Mainstream media can be considered as one of the major catalysts of gender discrimination in sports the amount of coverage given to male athletes compared to their female equivalency is very one sided a typical example are the broadcasting deals that the NBA and the WNBA has with the media outlets “Today, the WNBA announced that the league has entered into a new television deal with ESPN through the 2022 season. In addition, it announced that it will embark on a new branding campaign which features a new league logo and uniforms for the 2014 season. According to the Sports Business Daily, this television deal will be worth approximately $12 million a season.” Lee (2013). The NBA 's new television contracts with ESPN/ABC and TNT include rights to technologies that have yet to be invented, an indication of the importance the deals place on newer forms of media. The eight-year extensions go through the 2015-16 season. The current six-year contract expires at the end of next season. “ The NBA will receive about $930 million a year for all its broadcast rights, an increase of more than 20 percent from the previous average of $767 million”. There is a clear distinct gap between the television deals male athletes make a staggering 918 million dollar difference the NBA(male side of the association) as compared to the WNBA. This again stresses and takes us back to the grassroots levels, where it began. This gap could be avoided if attention and resources were made available. e.g. There would be a larger ratio for the amount of money spent to accumulate elite female players produced.
Journal #3 - Can the Men be Justified? After looking at things from the female point of view, I will now look at things from the masculine point of view whether topics such as wage; Whether scientific facts back the claim that men and women can 't play together because of the different body structures and whether the media outlets can justify why so much money is spent towards marketing the male athletes as compared to the female athletes. Statistics have proven and support the claim that men and women cannot play together in some sports. Women search for equality but physical constraints potentially hold them back because of their body types ,Testosterone enables men to develop larger muscles as well as higher heart rates. Men have more type two muscle fibres, that produce power, strength and speed. The testosterone increases the production of red blood cells that absorb oxygen, giving men a greater aerobic advantage. Another very good example is the way a female body reacts to an ACL or possible ACL(Anterior Cruciate Ligament), it is believed that women use different neuromuscular control mechanisms than men, and this is the primary reason for the increased incidence of knee injury in female athletes. “Women have measurable neuromuscular imbalances that cause them to control their knees like ball and socket joints attached to plummet springs, while men 's knees behave more like hinge joints attached to stiff springs.” Hewett(2008). These statistics back the belief that women and men cannot actually compete in all the same sports. “The equalization of sports programs has been the direct cause of the large infusion of girls and women into high risk sports. Female athletes who participate in jumping and pivoting sports are 4 to 6 times more likely to sustain an ACL injury than male athletes.” Hewett(2008). The media can be guilty of maybe instigating or contributing to the broadening gap between men 's and women 's sports. One may question the minimal amount of coverage given to female athletes but statistics prove the they can be justified for giving so much attention to the male athletes. First and foremost references can be taken from the NBA in comparison to the WNBA. The NBA boasts of super stars like Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Derrick Rose where as the WNBA boasts of female stars Candace Parker, Tina Charles and Diana Taurasi. The athleticism entertainment, fan following trending NBA stars is enough of a reason to broadcast the more popular NBA games more than the WNBA. The main objective of the media is to derive income from its activities so from this point the media cannot be blamed for choosing the best option which is covering the NBA instead of the WNBA which will derive larger profits. The wages male athletes and male coaches are paid compared to female athletes and female coaches in some sports may be justified reason being the quality of the players and the coaches. Referring back to the exhibit it can be noted in some the disciplines the male coaches are paid two and even three times more than their female counterparts it seems relatively unfair at first glance but some of these coaches may have dropped down from higher paying jobs in the NBA, others with years and years of experience another thing that comes into play is the quality of talent. Higher the quality of talent higher the pay. When it comes to male athletes the shear amount of athleticism and entertainment certain sports provide the fans the amount of money the male athletes are paid can be justified. The money the teams make from ticket sales alone is enough to pay players. Where the female teams don 't make as much from ticket sales so if there is to be a debate on this point alone men 's sports would get the nod.
Journal #4 - What Does the Future Have in Store
Should clamp down on this , It 's very disappointing that this is going on in high schools and colleges so frequently and it almost seems as though no one is doing anything to stop it. “Amanda grew up watching her brothers excel at football. Amanda played in a private tackle football league every weekend as the only female participant. Amanda did not play a non-contact position, such as kicker; she was an offensive lineman and a good one. Amanda 's male teammates enjoyed sharing the field with her. Indeed, they respected her love and passion for the game. Amanda is now in college and would like to continue playing football by participating on her college 's football team. Unfortunately, her college does not offer a women 's football team and will not allow Amanda to try out for the men 's team solely because she is female.” Through out these journals I have attempted to answer the question what kind of influence does gender inequality have on organized sports? The whole gender discrimination problem needs to be solved. My initial thoughts were that women were not being discriminated against. After my investigation I can confidently say women are still being discriminated against and needs to be done. I have learned that both genders can be discriminated against. I Think measures should be put in place to protect women and girls. Measures such as creating women 's leagues in sports women do not have teams for; Competitive co-ed varsity teams would aid in the battle. The media could provide more coverage to female games in the process balancing the amount of attention given to male and female athletes. Universities should divide the budgets between both sex’s moderately and effectively to get the best out of the varsity programs, female coaches should be paid relatively similar to their male counterparts to close the gap between both genders. I believe recruitment programs should give as much attention to aspiring female athletes as the males. This research has provided me with essential insight into the world of gender discrimination I have been able to break down each sex and understand each sex relation to the topic. I believe in the next few year a good amount of progress will be made. In the future my question might change to will women and men get to compete in the same sport for the same trophy?
Work Cited Demerit Lindsay .
2012. What about the boys? Sacking the contact sports exemption and tackling gender discrimination in athletics. San Diego, .
Hewett, Timothy . 2008. Predisposition to acl injuries in female athletes versus male athletes. Thorofare, Slack incorporated.
Riemer, Brenda . 2003. Gender typing of sports: an investigation of metheny\ 's classification. Washington, Publisher taylor & francis ltd. , american alliance for health, physical e.
Bremner, Kyla . 2002. Gender, sexuality and sport. Downsview, Inanna publications and education inc..
Castle, K.J. . 2013. 1 gender discrimination in sports. Toronto, Inanna publications and education inc..
lopiano, Donna . 2004. Gender equity in sports. Philadelphia, Diversity factor.
Giampetro-meyer, Andrea M. 2000;. Recognizing and remedying individual and institutional gender-based wage discrimination in sport . , American business law journal.
Schubert, Cheryl M. 1991. Gender discrimination in athletics. , American business law journal.
EXHIBIT
ONE
Here is a list of average salaries of men 's and women 's coaches of men’s and women’s teams as reported to the NCAA in 1997:
SPORT MEN’S TEAMS WOMEN 'S TEAMS
Basketball $99,283 $60,603
Baseball/Softball $41,879 $29,027
Gymnastics $35,675 $38,593
Ice Hockey $64,214 $24,478
Lacrosse $35,745 $26,871
Rowing $30,838 $22,623
Soccer $32,275 $27,791
Swimming $28,121 $26,711
Track $27,271 $25,249
Journals of Reflection
Sociology AND 1021
Professor Lauren Barr
26th March 2014
Basil Agyekum
Sociology
Journal #1 - Discussion of Both Genders Growing up my parents thrust me into organized basketball leagues and by the time I was fifteen I was on my high school basketball team. Even though I was just a young teenager I could notice the greater amount of effort, time and attention given to young boys in comparison to young girls. I can confidently say the girls I saw in our development program were as talented as the guys. This has engineered my interest in the gender bias in sports. My first impression of professional sports is that there is a clear divide at how female athletes are …show more content…
treated as compared to male athletes, as a consequence leading to female sports being undervalued and underappreciated. The Webster 's dictionary describes gender as “that which designates the sexes”; and discrimination as “unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice. Gender bias or discrimination in pro sports goes all the way back to the year 1896 where the founder of the Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin said, “No matter how toughened a sportswoman may be, her organism is not cut out to sustain certain shocks.” Statistics have proven that post secondary institutions spend three times more on athletic scholarships, recruiting and general accommodations on male student athletes. I see things from the liberal feminist perspective when it comes to gender inequality. I believe that the gender inequality issue can be solved by giving women equal chances and opportunities in a male dominated society. High school, college and professional sports systems are structured differently in terms of both genders. The current structures in place at high schools and colleges are frail and unfair denying women the chance to participate in sports considered to be for men, budgets for sports programs being unfairly distributed . When I think of gender discrimination and professional sports one of the first things I think is wages and the gap between both genders and the amount of coverage given to male sports over female sports by the media. Through personal experience and observations I’ve made throughout the years I feel like I understand the topic well in enough to voice my opinion. It has made me ask myself the question over and over again; What kind of influence does gender inequality have on organized sports? In my second journal I will explore and investigate both the political and social structures of professional sports. Finally, I will discuss what I have found, and learned from the probable future of professional sports.
Journal #2 - Investigating Gender Inequality I have noticed there is a very clear divide between male and female sports. So many times I have seen occurrences where female athletes are treated unfairly and unjustly. There are many reasons why society may have adopted these conceptions over the years. One of these factors has been the general notion that women cannot endure the same amount of physicality men can endure in sporting activities creating the belief that if men and women were to compete against each other men would have a competitive advantage over their female contender. It was, and to some extent still is, believed that there may be more physical danger to a female who is competing in a contact sport that includes males than to a female competing solely against other females. Second, there is a belief that males would dominate the female programs and deny the females the opportunity to participate in the activities if the males were allowed to compete against each other. These beliefs have made it very difficult for women to follow some of their passions and dreams. One implication of this is the amount of wages paid to professional female athletes is significantly lower than the amount paid to male athletes as illustrated in the first journal the gap between Tiger Woods and Maria Sharapova is enormously different. The other day I was looking up the highest paid athletes in the world and what spot the highest paid woman would feature on the Forbes list; Maria Sharapova turned out to be the highest paid female athlete placing twenty second on the list making twenty-nine million and Tiger Woods on top of the list making an staggering seventy-eight million a year forty-nine million more than Sharapova. significantly lower than male athletes. The divide is at such an extreme now that women 's sports are both verbally and visually set apart a typical example are the acronyms used in basketball for the different leagues under the same governing power. Basketball’s governing body is known as the NBA (National Basketball Association) it regulates both male and female basketball pros but for whatever the reason women 's basketball has been named differently as the WNBA (Womens National Basketball Association) making it seem as though they are two totally different association. Gender discrimination is still awfully present in high school athletics. An athletic compliance audit was conducted in Portland and nearing high schools where gender discriminations were identified and documented. There were issues with providing equal and adequate equipment for the girls, “Girls teams have no locker rooms or showers where they play softball, at Payson Park, while boys teams use the facilities where they play baseball, at Hadlock Field, home of the Portland Sea Dogs.” Bouchard(2011). As well as questionable allocation of funding . “Many booster groups don 't provide complete or accurate financial reports to the school district, so it 's impossible to determine whether the thousands of dollars they raise is being spent fairly among boys and girls teams.” Bouchard(2011). This information helps us to understand the severity of the issue I find it hard to understand why accommodations were made for the boys and not for the girls . Most schools don 't say, but their sports programs seem to support the well being and development of male athletes. Financing female sports is another major issue that needs to be addressed. Budgets are provided to high school and college sports programs each year, to be distributed evenly or according to needs across to the different sporting disciplines but the money never seems to be available for the young female athletes the subsequent implications to this are; leading to a failure to produce elite female athletes and females are deprived from engaging . This is because without proper investment and resources young female athletes will not have the chance to do what they want to do and potentially drop interest in the sport. The majority of the coaches and head of development programs for the high schools and colleges are from the generation X so, old fashioned stereotypes will and most likely have an influences on their decisions. “Prior to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, parents unknowingly perpetuated masculine and feminine stereotypes. They were taught by their parents, key influencers in schools and communities, and the media, that girls shouldn 't play sports or weren 't interested in sports.” Lopiano(2004). Mainstream media can be considered as one of the major catalysts of gender discrimination in sports the amount of coverage given to male athletes compared to their female equivalency is very one sided a typical example are the broadcasting deals that the NBA and the WNBA has with the media outlets “Today, the WNBA announced that the league has entered into a new television deal with ESPN through the 2022 season. In addition, it announced that it will embark on a new branding campaign which features a new league logo and uniforms for the 2014 season. According to the Sports Business Daily, this television deal will be worth approximately $12 million a season.” Lee (2013). The NBA 's new television contracts with ESPN/ABC and TNT include rights to technologies that have yet to be invented, an indication of the importance the deals place on newer forms of media. The eight-year extensions go through the 2015-16 season. The current six-year contract expires at the end of next season. “ The NBA will receive about $930 million a year for all its broadcast rights, an increase of more than 20 percent from the previous average of $767 million”. There is a clear distinct gap between the television deals male athletes make a staggering 918 million dollar difference the NBA(male side of the association) as compared to the WNBA. This again stresses and takes us back to the grassroots levels, where it began. This gap could be avoided if attention and resources were made available. e.g. There would be a larger ratio for the amount of money spent to accumulate elite female players produced.
Journal #3 - Can the Men be Justified? After looking at things from the female point of view, I will now look at things from the masculine point of view whether topics such as wage; Whether scientific facts back the claim that men and women can 't play together because of the different body structures and whether the media outlets can justify why so much money is spent towards marketing the male athletes as compared to the female athletes. Statistics have proven and support the claim that men and women cannot play together in some sports. Women search for equality but physical constraints potentially hold them back because of their body types ,Testosterone enables men to develop larger muscles as well as higher heart rates. Men have more type two muscle fibres, that produce power, strength and speed. The testosterone increases the production of red blood cells that absorb oxygen, giving men a greater aerobic advantage. Another very good example is the way a female body reacts to an ACL or possible ACL(Anterior Cruciate Ligament), it is believed that women use different neuromuscular control mechanisms than men, and this is the primary reason for the increased incidence of knee injury in female athletes. “Women have measurable neuromuscular imbalances that cause them to control their knees like ball and socket joints attached to plummet springs, while men 's knees behave more like hinge joints attached to stiff springs.” Hewett(2008). These statistics back the belief that women and men cannot actually compete in all the same sports. “The equalization of sports programs has been the direct cause of the large infusion of girls and women into high risk sports. Female athletes who participate in jumping and pivoting sports are 4 to 6 times more likely to sustain an ACL injury than male athletes.” Hewett(2008). The media can be guilty of maybe instigating or contributing to the broadening gap between men 's and women 's sports. One may question the minimal amount of coverage given to female athletes but statistics prove the they can be justified for giving so much attention to the male athletes. First and foremost references can be taken from the NBA in comparison to the WNBA. The NBA boasts of super stars like Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Derrick Rose where as the WNBA boasts of female stars Candace Parker, Tina Charles and Diana Taurasi. The athleticism entertainment, fan following trending NBA stars is enough of a reason to broadcast the more popular NBA games more than the WNBA. The main objective of the media is to derive income from its activities so from this point the media cannot be blamed for choosing the best option which is covering the NBA instead of the WNBA which will derive larger profits. The wages male athletes and male coaches are paid compared to female athletes and female coaches in some sports may be justified reason being the quality of the players and the coaches. Referring back to the exhibit it can be noted in some the disciplines the male coaches are paid two and even three times more than their female counterparts it seems relatively unfair at first glance but some of these coaches may have dropped down from higher paying jobs in the NBA, others with years and years of experience another thing that comes into play is the quality of talent. Higher the quality of talent higher the pay. When it comes to male athletes the shear amount of athleticism and entertainment certain sports provide the fans the amount of money the male athletes are paid can be justified. The money the teams make from ticket sales alone is enough to pay players. Where the female teams don 't make as much from ticket sales so if there is to be a debate on this point alone men 's sports would get the nod.
Journal #4 - What Does the Future Have in Store
Should clamp down on this , It 's very disappointing that this is going on in high schools and colleges so frequently and it almost seems as though no one is doing anything to stop it. “Amanda grew up watching her brothers excel at football. Amanda played in a private tackle football league every weekend as the only female participant. Amanda did not play a non-contact position, such as kicker; she was an offensive lineman and a good one. Amanda 's male teammates enjoyed sharing the field with her. Indeed, they respected her love and passion for the game. Amanda is now in college and would like to continue playing football by participating on her college 's football team. Unfortunately, her college does not offer a women 's football team and will not allow Amanda to try out for the men 's team solely because she is female.” Through out these journals I have attempted to answer the question what kind of influence does gender inequality have on organized sports? The whole gender discrimination problem needs to be solved. My initial thoughts were that women were not being discriminated against. After my investigation I can confidently say women are still being discriminated against and needs to be done. I have learned that both genders can be discriminated against. I Think measures should be put in place to protect women and girls. Measures such as creating women 's leagues in sports women do not have teams for; Competitive co-ed varsity teams would aid in the battle. The media could provide more coverage to female games in the process balancing the amount of attention given to male and female athletes. Universities should divide the budgets between both sex’s moderately and effectively to get the best out of the varsity programs, female coaches should be paid relatively similar to their male counterparts to close the gap between both genders. I believe recruitment programs should give as much attention to aspiring female athletes as the males. This research has provided me with essential insight into the world of gender discrimination I have been able to break down each sex and understand each sex relation to the topic. I believe in the next few year a good amount of progress will be made. In the future my question might change to will women and men get to compete in the same sport for the same trophy?
Work Cited Demerit Lindsay .
2012. What about the boys? Sacking the contact sports exemption and tackling gender discrimination in athletics. San Diego, .
Hewett, Timothy . 2008. Predisposition to acl injuries in female athletes versus male athletes. Thorofare, Slack incorporated.
Riemer, Brenda . 2003. Gender typing of sports: an investigation of metheny\ 's classification. Washington, Publisher taylor & francis ltd. , american alliance for health, physical e.
Bremner, Kyla . 2002. Gender, sexuality and sport. Downsview, Inanna publications and education inc..
Castle, K.J. . 2013. 1 gender discrimination in sports. Toronto, Inanna publications and education inc..
lopiano, Donna . 2004. Gender equity in sports. Philadelphia, Diversity factor.
Giampetro-meyer, Andrea M. 2000;. Recognizing and remedying individual and institutional gender-based wage discrimination in sport . , American business law journal.
Schubert, Cheryl M. 1991. Gender discrimination in athletics. , American business law journal.
EXHIBIT
ONE
Here is a list of average salaries of men 's and women 's coaches of men’s and women’s teams as reported to the NCAA in 1997:
SPORT MEN’S TEAMS WOMEN 'S TEAMS
Basketball $99,283 $60,603
Baseball/Softball $41,879 $29,027
Gymnastics $35,675 $38,593
Ice Hockey $64,214 $24,478
Lacrosse $35,745 $26,871
Rowing $30,838 $22,623
Soccer $32,275 $27,791
Swimming $28,121 $26,711
Track $27,271 $25,249