February 5th marks the 34th annual National Women and Girls in Sports Day. This day recognizes and celebrates the amazing achievements and participation of women and girls in athletics.
Aside from being a fun recreational activity and a way to stay active, participating in sports is a way to gain important social, leadership, and teambuilding skills and gain self-confidence. In addition, athletics continues to be an important stage for women to level the playing field in terms of gender equality.
The sporting arena has not always been a welcoming one to female athletes. Historically, women were not allowed to participate in sports or had to do so under more strict, conventional rules that promoted modest behavior. Largely, the focus for women was gaining physical fitness and recreation rather than formal competition. It wasn’t until the early 20th century when a small number of women began participating in organized sporting events. According to the IOC, in the 1900 Paris Olympics, only 22 out of 997 athletes were women. They participated in events that included tennis, sailing, and croquet. These sports were considered to be more leisurely activities at the time, deemed suitable for women to compete in.
In 1972, Congress passed the Education Amendments which included Title IX, a landmark piece of legislation, stating that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This broke down barriers regarding female participation as all federally funded institutions, most notably schools, were required to have equitable opportunities in athletics.
According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, prior to Title IX, only 1 in 27 girls played sports whereas today two in five are involved. Women in sports have come a long way since the early 20th century. For example, today women compete in every sport in the Olympics and the most recent Games in Pyeongchang in 2018 had women make up 41% of athlete participation, as reported by the IOC.
However, as in many aspects of our lives, the ‘glass ceiling’ still covers many aspects of the sporting world. Men continue to be dominant figures in the sports industry, whether it be through recognition or regarding salary and winnings. As seen on 2019 Forbes Highest-Paid Athletes list, the first and only woman within the top 100, Serena Williams, doesn’t even appear until the 63rd slot. Male athletic events continue to receive higher attendance numbers and more media coverage.
While there is still a long way to go, stories and news of female athletes who are pushing the boundaries of their sports and fighting for equality provide a hopeful outlook for the future. Not just any athlete could win a Grand Slam singles title in tennis while pregnant, but Serena Williams did. At just 22, Katie Ledecky has already won 15 world championship medals and five Olympic gold medals in swimming. Simone Biles continues to be dominating force at gymnastics. For the first time, this year’s NHL All-Star skills competition included a women’s three-on-three event showcasing players from the US and Canadian teams.
Female athletes are also making strides off the field. Athletes from the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), US Women’s National Team (USWNT) and USA Hockey are advocating for themselves and demanding that they receive equal pay and benefits compared with male leagues. The USWNT has garnered huge successes in winning four World Cups, four Olympic gold medals and has been consistently ranked either first or second in the world since 2003. Despite this, the women of this team continue to receive considerably less money than members of the US Men’s National Team do, even in the midst of recent years of disappointing performances on the international stage. To combat this, female players have come together to sue US Soccer on the basis of gender discrimination.
Just a couple of decades ago you would see a stark difference in female participation in sports from what we have today. Professional leagues such as the WNBA and WUSA (Women’s United Soccer Association, the very first paid professional women’s soccer league in the world and precursor to today’s NWSL) were only established in the late 1990s and in 2000. With an increasingly recognizable and diverse league, younger female athletes are more encouraged by seeing players that look like them and have gone through similar experiences. While girls can still appreciate and idolize male athletes, female role models can exemplify that yes, women can succeed in this industry too.
So on February 5th, take a second and think about a female athlete. Maybe it’s someone famous, someone you know, or even yourself, but just think how them being involved in sports is a culmination of hard work and advocation.
By participating in athletics, women are taking on a status quo and empowering themselves and other women around the world. The amazing feats that women have achieved in sports continue to push us forward through that glass ceiling. By even deciding to try out for a team in school or a rec league or showing up to a women’s sporting event is a way that helps to honor those female athletes that came before and helped us get to where we are today.