In this the 21st century there is so much legislation promoting equality and so much progression, but lets face it men and women are a long way from being treated equal. All we have to do is look at the “wonderful” world of sport.
At any given time we can turn on our TV to the sport channels and we are sure to find the latest football game. Look closer and you will realise there is rarely ever any women’s sport shown on prime time television.
I understand that in sport it is unfair to have men competing against women or vice versa because they have different physical builds, but the attention these sports generate is hugely biased in favouring the male teams.
The World Cup has been in the media constantly and every player on the team is getting paid ridiculous amounts of money, but where would you ever see the same level of hype surrounding a female professional sports team?
For those that say football doesn’t interest women as much I say look at a sport like tennis. There is equal interest for both male and female players, but the male players get paid more than the females. Both sexes’ train just as hard, they play just as well, so what’s the problem?
I’m sure if women’s football or other such sports got as much broadcast time as their male counterparts the interest or popularity of these sports will grow. We may never reach a stage were female and male footballers receive the same wages, because the zeros on their cheques depend largely on the size of there celebrity, but in a sport like tennis there should be no obstacle.
If we want an equal world why should we ignore the chauvinistic bias in sport? All I’m asking for is what were entitled to - equal pay and equal rights within the workplace. It just so happens that athletes go to work on a training field!
About this article
This article was written by Nicole Lynch. It was published on the Reach for the Sky website.
