There is no doubt that men’s sports are more popular than women’s sports. Despite the on going efforts to even out the playing field between genders in contemporary society, the current climate in men’s and women’s sports at the collegiate and professional level illustrate that some disparities are inescapable. However, we are capable of overcoming gender inequality in sports by simply supporting our female athletes.
By participating in only men’s sports, we are perpetuating gender discrimination inside and outside of sports. Although women’s sports have slowly increased in popularity over the past decade, sponsors and fans continue to treat them as subordinate to men’s sports. Without viewership, women’s sports will continue to be monetarily inferior to men’s sports. In fact, LIVESTRONG reports that on average women’s collegiate sports receive only 24 percent of the men’s annual operating budget, 16 percent of the men’s recruiting budget, and 33 percent of the men’s annual scholarship budget. Furthermore, men’s collegiate athletes receive nearly $179 million more in scholarships than female athletes.
By simply attending women’s sports, sponsorships and media coverage would increase. According to the NCAA, women’s basketball had an attendance of 7,750,688 spectators for the 2016-2017 season. Men’s basketball had a total attendance of 24,407,410 spectators for the same year. An increased audience for women’s sports would allow for the pay gap between men’s and women’s sports to continue to close by opening up more opportunities for sponsorships and advertisements. Additionally, more viewership would allow for an increase in the total media coverage of women’s sports. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, only 6 to 8 percent of all sports media coverage is devoted to women’s sports. Thus, an increase of viewership would contribute to an increase in media coverage which would make televised women’s sports more accessible.
Unfortunately, we are not doing enough to empower our female athletes. We must continue to support their fight for equality at the collegiate and professional level, so grab a chair and go cheer on our Gonzaga women’s sports! Check out the links below for the schedules for Zag women’s sports spring schedules!