Inequality in women’s sports
On July 7, 2019, I watched the United States women’s national soccer team dominate their opponents and win back-to-back World Cups.
I was so happy and proud of these women. I was truly inspired, not just by their amazing play, but for filing a lawsuit against the U. S Soccer Federation.
As documented by numerous news outlets, include this NPR article, the women’s team sued for gender discrimination.
You don’t have to know much about sports to know that women aren’t paid as much as men or treated equally.
Unfortunately, for them, in March, a judge ruled that the case be dismissed.
Regardless of the outcome, it was the first time in my life that I witnessed women in sports take action and stick up for themselves. For an aspiring sports journalist, this was motivating for me to see on TV.
“More than 90% of anchors, commentators and editors are men,” Michael Serazio said. “Not until 2017 did a woman announce a Men’s March Madness or Monday Night Football game.”
I had the chance to cover a Lehigh men’s basketball playoff game, and that was the first time it hit me just how few women there are in the sports world. There were about 20 people who had press passes, and I was one of two women.
Do I think someone should get hired just for being a man or a woman? No, I think that the best candidate should be hired. But sometimes it’s hard to believe that these media companies aren’t discriminating based on gender.
In fact, in November 2019, Rachel Balkovec became the first female coach to be hired by the MLB. But what you might not know about Rachel is that she applied to the same jobs the year before.
So, what was different? This time, she didn’t go by her legal name, or state that she played softball.
Last week, I had the chance to attend the virtual espnW Summit where I got to listen and learn from Sarah Spain, Julie Foudy, Sabrina Ionescu and many more.
Having a job where people don’t look like you may not be easy, but ultimately you must remember what you have to offer.
It’s OK to recognize that there is plenty of inequality in sports. But there’s inequality in everything — in education, race, in the business world. It’s all around us.
Use your voice and speak up to be the change you wish to see in the world.
