NYC Marathon: the gender gap continues
The New York City Marathon is known for being the biggest and most popular running race in the world. In 2017, more than 50,000 runners participated and represented 200 different countries — also making it one of the most diverse running events.
However, as the closing date approaches for applications for the 2018 event, data from the official TCS New York City Marathon website shows that there is still a visible gender gap when it comes to participants.
Between the years of 1970 and 1979, out of 24,863 runners, only 2,214 of them were women. These figures have visibly improved over the years. In fact, the number of male runners has been decreasing, hitting a low of 59% in 2015, whereas the female numbers have steadily increased — but barely equated to 42% of participants in 2015.
We can’t forget that 50 years ago women were not even allowed to run marathons — which explains the lack of female participants in the past. It was only after Kathrine Switzer decided to register for the Boston Marathon under a gender-neutral name that women were finally able to participate.
Although the number of female participants has progressively risen, the percentage of male runners remains much higher.
