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Carly Johnson

Mrs. Barnes

English 112

10 May 2017

Gender Discrimination in Athletics

Discrimination is defined as treatment or consideration of a person or thing based on the

category to which it belongs. Discrimination has always been a worldwide issue. Although many

steps have been taken to solve this problem, it has never been successful. One of the main

circumstances where discrimination is demonstrated is in athletics. Gender discrimination in

athletics is a global issue that creates negative tension, unfairly impacting female athletics;

therefore it needs to continued to be addressed.

All around the world, females are constantly seen as less than males, especially in

athletics. Although many changes have been made, there is still a long way to go from seeing

equality in sports. Females are stereotyped which results in problems such as not being

recognized as often, receiving less athletic opportunities, or lesser pay than male athletes. Earlier

this year a particular example of this was shown. Five members of the United States women's

soccer team filed a lawsuit regarding gender-based wage discrimination against the U.S. Soccer

Federation. Although the women's soccer team brought in nearly $20 million more in revenue

then the men's team, the female athletes were only being paid 25% of what the men received

(Zawn, Villines). This is just one of many examples where female athletes faced discrimination.

Before the late 1800s women had little to no opportunities to participate in sports. This

progressively changed overtime but accelerated when Title IX was passed in 1972. It was created
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as a law to recognize women in athletics. Title IX stated that all public schools and universities

must offer equal athletic opportunities for men and women. (Aliprandini, Michael). The law did

have a very positive impact on female athletes, yet no one is completely aware of this law. Still

today women are continuously discriminated against while participating in athletics. To further

address this problem, more people need to be made aware of this law so it can be applied across

all athletics.

Schools and universities all over the world think they have solved the problem of gender

discrimination in sports, but this is not the case. A survey of freshman students from Jackson

High School shows that 78% of the students surveyed believe discrimination in athletics is

present. It also revealed that 86% of the students surveyed believe it negatively affects female

athletes more so than males. (Johnson, Carly). Terry Peterson, the athletic director of Jackson

High School, believes there is equality between the female and male athletes at Jackson. We

obviously try to offer the same amount of opportunities (sports) for girls sports as we do guys

(Peterson, Terry). This shows that there is a huge communication gap that is leading to this issue.

Schools believe if they offer the same amount and types of sports for both girls and boys the

problem is solved, but in reality female athletes are, and always have been, discriminated against.

Discrimination unfairly impacts female athletes everyday worldwide. The lack of

awareness of the law, Title IX, limits female athletes ability to stand up for their rights. Also the

communication gap that is present between student athletes and the athletic administration results

in schools believing that there is no problem. People soon have to face reality and realize that

although some progress has been made, gender discrimination is an issue that affects many

athletes all over the world.

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Works Cited

Aliprandini, Michael, and Geraldine Wagner. "Title IX: An Overview." Points Of View: Title IX

(2016): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 2 Feb. 2017.

Johnson, Carly. Discrimination Survey. Survey. 14 March 2017.

Peterson, Terry. Interview. 13 March 2017.

Zawn Villines, GoodTherapy.org Correspondent. "Negative Stereotypes Can

Affect Female Athletes' Performance." GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog. N.p., 14 July

2016. Web. 14 May 2017.