Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Course Title

Date

Conventional Gender Roles More restrict females than Males in the Sports Industry

Gender is the term used to refer to a person being either male or female, and all are equal; thus, there should be no discrimination for nobody wanted to born male, neither did one want to be born female; we all found ourselves to be just the way we are and it is not anybody’s fault. However, in sports, the female gender is more restricted than men; there is discrimination against the female gender. Most women may lack interest in sports, but the barriers that the women in sports face when pursuing their careers in this field keep them from succeeding and achieving what they ever wanted in the field. Gender in sports is not equal for women in sports get lower pays; despite having many games for women daily, the media still have less or no cover on the female sports, and the number of coaches among other positions is minimal, which should not be the case when we are talking about equality in sports (Report). Women are more restricted in college and professional sports than men because of lower salaries, a lack of media coverage between men and women sports, and a minimal number of female coaches.

First of all, Women in sports are being paid lower salaries than men in the same sports. It does not make sense when Serena Williams is the only female athlete in Forbes World’s 100 highest-paid athlete’s list and clearly shows that gender discrimination is very present in sports. In basketball, DeAndre Ayton will make $5,091,500 in the next season, and at the same time, A’ja Wilson will make $50,000, which is 100% less than the male player, according to the payback between NBA first pick and WNBA first pick. Tennis is the sport that has been hailed as the head for gender equality for the female player get the same amount of payback as the male counterpart, and that is how come Serena Williams is in the top 100 highest-paid athletes. However, the New York Times dug deeper into Tennis and found out that for each dollar a male player makes, the female counterpart takes home just 80 cents, which means just the female winner is equivalent to the male counterpart and not any other player (Casper). For soccer, the same case applies. As much as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi deserve every penny they are paid, of $94 million and $81 million respectively, the female counterparts should be paid just the same for gender equality purposes, which indeed matter. Several factors may lead to the differences in the pay gaps, factors like mismatched media coverage, sexism, and the lack of women holding the position, all of which arise from gender discrimination. It is upon us to curb it. Some people may argue that it is fair because women sports do not generate much money as men’s sport according to ROI (Goecker), but what remains the same is both the male and the female counterparts have used their energy on the field, put in their dedication and played the same type of game thus needs a similar reward.

Secondly, the lack of media coverage is a true definition of women being more restricted in sports than their male counterparts. Sporting events occur almost daily, and the women are never left out in their games just as the men, whether college or professional leagues. With all that happens, it is very hard to find many articles broadly written about a game that was done by a female team but very easy to find in every newspaper coverage of a sport or sports performed by the male gender. Similarly, unlike the female, most male games can be streamed live as they take place from whichever part of the world, unlike the female, that is not easy to find live. With that, one may easily conclude that females do not participate in sports, which is not true at all; they take part, but media coverage is less and, at times, completely not available. Tucker Center for Research on ladies and Women in Sports at the University of Minnesota researched and found out that women sports in the United States of America receive only four percent of all media coverage in sports (Shine). Some people may say that it is just fair because the physicality required in some sports makes the sport less entertaining when women play them, but I would say then why should there be women sports in the first place? Being female was not a choice just as being male, and thus there should be an equal share of opportunities in the world of sports. If both males and females pay some game, why should the media only cover the male sport and leave out the female, knowing that they are also playing the same game?

Thirdly, the number of female coaches being less indicates the female gender being highly restricted by conventional gender roles in the sports industry. Moreover, the glass ceiling is heavily happening in the sports industry for the higher the position, and the less likely a woman will be. Most coaches’ positions have women underrepresented, with women facing so many challenges when seeking top-level management positions. Competition with the male gender, family obligations, being a woman, and the stereotype that women are unwilling to give their all in terms of effort and time are just a few challenges women face when seeking management levels in the sports industry. For the women who have managed to be in the sports industry leadership team, they are disproportionately found in sectors like the academic and compliance as the men being put to be responsible for the facilities going to be used and event management, marketing and media relations; which is more of the game than being behind the scene as women (Whalen). Some people may say women do not perform at the same level as men because of the body structure; thus, it is fair enough if they do not be coaches, but I would say why then should there not be female s coaching female players for the males also take part in coaching the females.

In conclusion, we should all be treated with equality in a case where the same aspect is in occurrence. It is not fair when the male athlete is paid 100% more than the female when the media coverage for male sports is 96% leaving female sports just 4%, and it is not fair when the females have a hard time being selected to be coaches despite being capable of the work and worthy of the work. We should work to ensure gender equality at all times to prevent the consequences of discrimination, hitting us hard.

Works Cited

Casper, Andrea. “Examining the Gender Pay Gap in Elite Sports.” WITI (2020). Document.

Goecker, Liesl. “All the Arguments you Need: to Advocate for Equal Pay in Sport.” Swaddle (2019): 1-7. Document.

The report, Junior. “Inequality in Sports.” Junior Report (2019): 1-4. Document.

Shine, Farrell. “Lack of Media Coverage for Women’s Sports.” The Ionian (2019): 1-4. Document.

Whalen, Kelsey. “Discrimination Against Women in DS[port Industry.” Eastern Kentucky University (2017): 1-44. Document.