Sexism at the Olympics

The 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea just concluded last week with other 92 nations that participated and 2,922 athletes. One would think that the women of Team USA had a successful run at the games, including standout performances from seventeen-year-old snowboarder Chloe Kim and Lindsey Vonn's return to skiing, but that was not necessarily the case. Women earned six less medals than their male counterparts, and in some cases, such as sports like speed skating and cross-country skiing, women are required to go for shorter distances, playing into the "women are weaker" mindset.

Additionally, some Olympic athletes were subject to sexist remarks by commentators. After Chloe Kim became the youngest American to win a gold medal in snowboarding, a sports announcer from media outlet Barstool Sports simplified her to "a little hot piece of ass" instead of discussing her achievement. After Anna Veith, a downhill skier from Austria, won a silver medal, one male commentator questioned her ability to compete after getting married.


Olympian Chloe Kim after winner her gold medal in the halfpipe snowboarding event. 

While the Olympics are usually considered a very positive event that brings people of all cultures together, the event has much to improve on in terms of gender equality.

Root of Sexism in Sport

So we all have heard the facts and know that women athletes get paid less than men, women’s sports are show less on TV, and women athletes have to deal with a whole slew of sexist comments throughout their career. But now it comes down to the real question: What is the root cause of the sexist views of women in sports?

 

(1)  Physical disparities

a.     For: on average men are much stronger and faster than women, so clearly sports are much better at a faster speed

b.     Against: Many sports like Formula1 has no physical barrier, yet no woman has been given a chance in a F1 competitive car

(2)  Gender differences rooted in culture: Sports make you less feminine

a.     For: less women play sports because it is not seen as attractive and this is perpetuated when good looks are a factor when showing women athletes on TV/in magazines

b.     Against: That is outdated thinking and now a lot of younger girls play sports in Europe

What are your beliefs? Is sexism caused by either of the above reasons or by something else?

**Extra credit: post a picture of a European woman athlete on a magazine cover for her athletic ability**

Women Advancing Their Careers in the Sport Industry

Although women are climbing to the top in most industries in the work world, the sport industry has been slow to follow the trend. In the case of football, traditionally, men in the executive football positions are former football players. These former male players were used to being in an all male football environment. This is how the football associations justify the discrimination. 

Because of this, UEFA launched the Women in Football Leadership Programme. UEFA states that their aim with this project is “to accelerate a development process within the associations.” People attend the program from all over Europe. At the program, women listen to speeches and participate in panel discussions. The program also offers participants a year-long mentor to inspire woman to continue to pursue leadership in football organizations. 

Female participants at the UEFA Women in Football Leadership Programme in May 2017.

After many attempts for equality in the workplace of sports, some progress has been made. For example, WNBA star Becky Hammon was hired as the NBA’s first full time assistant coach, Liz Nicholl is the CEO of UK Sport, and Barbara Slater is BBC’s Director of Sport. These are just a few of the many women climbing to the top of the corporate ladder in the world of sports.

Liz Nicholl, who has been referred to as "the most powerful woman" in British sport.

Not Just The Athletes

So often we think of sexism in sports as just being against female athletes, however it is also against female referees, female concession workers, female grounds-keepers, etc. According to a survey conducted by the Women In Football Organization, in 2015 more than 66% of women had witnessed sexism in the football workplace. According to The Guardian, one referee writes that she has lost count of the number of times male players have commented on her gender and appearance: "It's always along the lines of 'nice legs, ref', 'you're the sexiest referee I've seen all season', 'nice butt', etc."

Women In Football is a networking organization which represents more than 1,200 women employed across the football industry. In 2015, around the time of international woman's day (March 9th), they launched a month-long social media campaign to bring awareness to sexism in football. The year after this campaign, organizations saw a 269% increase in incidents of discrimination being reported. Although this is an on-going problem in society, there is hope for the future of women in football.

Why Are Women's Sports Less Popular?

In 2012, the top women's soccer players from Europe and America received an email stating that the Women's Professional Soccer League was being disbanded due to legal issues. An entire sports league was cancelled, and the announcement never even made mainstream news. Why? Women's sports tend to be less popular than men's sports.
There are many possible factors that can explain this disparity. Money and revenue come out at the top reason why women's sports are less popular than men's; they are less profitable. Out of all of the sponsorship money in the sports world, only 0.15% of it goes towards women. On the other hand, men's sports make about 1.5 billion from media deals alone. Another argument some make is the physical difference between males and females. Some assume that men's sports are more popular due to their "better" athleticism and speed that make matches more entertaining to watch. This is simply not the case for all sports. In a sport like Formula One, there is no distinguishable difference between men and women racing, but women's F1 racing is virtually unknown.

Formula 1 driver Susie Wolf, a champion for gender equality in the sport.

Why do you think there is such a difference in popularity in men's and women's sports? And what can be done, if anything, to fix it?

The Grid Girls Debate

The Grid Girls Debate

 At the end of January, Formula 1 announced the removal of Grid girls from the 2018 season. Grid girls are attractive, often scantily clad young women hired to work on the sidelines and podiums at male-dominated sports events. The recent shift in opinion of “Grid girls [being] an outdated concept that starkly defines the difference between men and women in a sporting arena, and in life, a lot of the time—men are the main show, while women are meant to adorn the sidelines and be valued for their physical appearance,” according to Bloomberg, has caused F1 to remove Grid Girls completely.

This decision was meant to help pull Formula 1 into the 21^st century and attract a younger audience, but this decision received some backlash from F1 supporters saying Grid Girls are necessary to the sport and they maintain the history and sexiness of F1. Also, Grid Girls fighting back by saying they love their jobs and don’t feel objectified at all.

Is using grid girls in the 21^st century perpetuating sexism or is it allowing women to pursue whatever career they want and continue the success of F1?