Female athletes also often receive less than male athletes in terms of prize money. Men earn far more than women playing in the same league or position. For example, male players in the pro league NBA are paid an average of $7.4 million a year, while a female player earns an average of less than $20,000 a year. It’s unfair to deprive female athletes when both genders work hard.
With increased media coverage of women’s sports, society may change its view of female athletes and come to enjoy sports. With the increase in popularity and viewership, the revenue and pay will also increase.
Though there is a social movement going on for women empowerment in all walks of life, still we need to move towards creating equality between men and women. In sports or anywhere, gender inequality should not be tolerated. Society needs to change its mindset and women athletes need to be honored as well. Both male and female athletes have the same passion, respect, skill and pride for the sports they play professionally. It is time we change this aspect of our society and respect women athletes as they deserve.
The new generation should be exposed equally to both the gender sports so that the prejudice of the present society towards female athletes can reduce and gradually disappear. Exposure to what women can achieve athletically will inspire young girls to take up sports as a profession.
The media industry consciously or subconsciously promotes the belief that men are inherently superior to women in almost all areas of life. a radical change in thinking, an increase in television coverage and radio, for women in sport taking center stage; And media influence is essential.
Sports media can play a huge role in promoting gender equality by providing balanced media coverage of both men’s and women’s sports. The main focus should be on the sport, not how the women look. They are strong in their own way, and we should respect what comes with persistence and patience. Women sports broadcasters should be given their due rights to show their full potential.
Time has come for the media to come out of this hypocritical mindset of patriarchal dominance and give proper coverage to the female population.
[Tasneem Hossain is a multilingual poet, columnist, op-ed and fiction writer, translator and training consultant. She is the Director of Continuing Education Centre, Bangladesh.]
Reference:
1. Maazel, Jenna, ‘Still Expected to Look Like Barbie Doll’: Gender Equality in Sports Media an Ongoing Battle, CN Cronkite News, April 12, 2021
2. The Media’s Impact on Gender Inequality in Sports, University of British Columbia
3. Thomas, Joshua, Tennis’s all-time top Grand Slam winners: Who has won the most titles?, The Sporting News, February, 2023