It’s A Win-Win: Women Reaching Gender Equality in Sports, Work & Life
Encouraging girls in sports early offers mental and physical health benefits and encourages leadership. (Photo by Women’s Sports Foundation.)
It’s only been a century since women athletes were excluded from the 1924 Olympics in Paris, but this is quite a golden comeback. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris this year, athletes identifying as men and women are equally participating—almost.
Swimmer Katie Ledecky became the most decorated Olympian woman swimmer in history with 14 medals as Sha’Carri Richardson sped to first and the U.S. team of two men and two women set a world record and won gold in the mixed medley 4-100 meters relay race. Yes, it’s also a metaphor.
With the hashtag, #GenderEqualOlympics, the International Olympic Committee declares gender equity in representation with 5,630 male athletes and 5,416 women. Twenty-eight out of 32 sports are fully gender equal in Paris, with a schedule of 152 women’s events, 157 men’s events and 20 mixed-gender events.
“With #GenderEqualOlympics, the International Olympic Committee declares gender equity in representation. #Olympics2024”
Read more from Gloria Feldt on Olympics, women in sports
“Our commitment to advancing gender equality does not end in Paris,” said Thomas Bach, the IOC President.
“We will continue to open pathways for women and to work with our stakeholders, encouraging them to take the necessary steps to advance gender equality in their area of responsibility. The IOC will keep leading the way and using the power of sport to contribute to a more equal and inclusive society.”
The universal mission for gender equity in representation in leadership in all fields and industries—including sports—is the purpose of Take The Lead and has been for 10 years. Gender and racial equity and fairness are at the center of the 2024 Power Up Concert & Conference on Women’s Equality Day, August 25-26 in Washington, D.C.
“‘Together We Lead,’ is all about being gender equal all the time,” says Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead.
“Gender and racial #equity and fairness are at the center of the 2024 #PowerUp Concert & Conference on #WomensEqualityDay, August 25-26 in Washington, D.C.”
The shift in sports coverage, participation and leadership is a topic of discussion on the menu at the conference. Jenny Nguyen, owner of The Sports Bra, addresses the historic context of inequality in sports and her extremely successful entrepreneurial efforts to shine a light on women’s sports globally.
Read more in Take The Lead on Title IX
An entrepreneur in Portland, Oregon, Nguyen reportedly invested her lifesavings in The Sports Bra, a food and beverage site that only shows women athletes on the venue’s screens. The goal was to create a community for LGBTQ+ and women sports fans.
According to CNBC, “Business has been good, despite the niche business model and record inflation sending food and beverage prices soaring. The Sports Bra brought in $944,000 in revenue in the eight months it was open in 2022.”
Travel Portland reports that the impetus for Nguyen’s business was historic invisibility in sports coverage of women’s sports.
“Travel Portland reports that the impetus for Nguyen’s business, @TheSportsBraPDX, was historic invisibility in sports coverage of #womenssports.”
“A 2021 study, which has tracked mainstream sports for 30 years, reported that just a mere 5% of television coverage focuses on women’s sports. By making a few small changes — like flipping a couple of letters in “sports bar” and ensuring a schedule of live sports often ignored at other bars — Jenny and her team are making history with the first and only sports bar highlighting women’s sports in the U.S.”
Read more in Take The Lead on gender gap in sports
More than 29 million people watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics, where the IOC had mandated equal representation of men and women as carrying the flags in the opening ceremony; this year Coco Gauff and LeBron James shared that honor. When the U.S.A. Women’s Gymnastics team won the gold medal, teammates Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey were all smiles, and called the “New Golden Girls.” Swimmer Ledecky set new records along with her lucky 13th medal win.
Read more in Take The Lead on women leaders in sports
Tuned into watching the U.S. women’s gymnastic team were millions of fans online and on television, as well as Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Jessica Chastain, Chrissy Teigen and Tom Cruise in person in the stands.
Why the emphasis on sports when there are many activities women can get involved in? Women in Sports Foundation’s recent report shows that sports influence the lives of girls in extremely positive ways.
The study shows, “Mental health disorders are 1.5 to 2.5 times lower for girls who play sports compared to those who never played. Nearly 30% of girls who never played sports have moderate-to-high levels of depression symptoms, compared to 17% of girls who currently play.”
“@WomensSportsFdn’s recent report shows that sports influence the lives of girls in extremely positive ways. #womenssports #genderequity”
The WSF reports, “Girls who play sports report 1.5 times higher levels of meaning and purpose compared to those who never played. In sport settings that focus on effort, improvement, and teamwork, depression symptoms are significantly lower (3%) vs. settings where winning is the main goal and success is defined by ability compared to others (24.7%.)”
Additionally, “In sport settings where girls have more “voice and choice” over goals and activities, depression symptoms are significantly lower (4%) vs. settings where they don’t have that opportunity (35.1%.)”
Feldt writes, “When girls and women — and boys and men for that matter — today get to cheer on basketball stars Caitlin Clark or Angel Reese, Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, gymnast Simone Biles, or their college’s female athletes in any sport, they can see themselves in the story of sports.”
Yes, the fans are going wild over the wins by women at the Summer Olympics from all countries. The widened, more fair coverage of all sports also demonstrates losses.
In spite of strong gains, some sports coverage still stings with sexism. Eurosport commentator Bob Ballard was fired after saying the sexist comment on air about the Australian swim team, “You know what women are like…hanging around, doing their makeup,” according to the BBC.
“In spite of strong gains, some sports coverage still stings with #sexism. #Olympics2024”
On the positive side, there has been so much progress in participation, coverage, investment and entrepreneurship surrounding women’s sports.
“Women are changing the face of sports. We are transforming power in the world of sports, just as we are transforming the power paradigm in business and politics,” Feldt writes. “Women’s sports were marginalized, underfunded, and often dismissed as less important or competitive than men’s sports.”
““[Women] are transforming #power in the world of sports, just as we are transforming the power paradigm in business and politics.” — @GloriaFeldt. #genderparity”
Feldt writes, “Last year at Take The Lead’s Power Up Concert and Conference, we honored Angel City Football Club for advancing women’s sports business and demonstrating the profitability of women’s sports.” Julie Uhrman, co-founder of the Angel City Football Club, received Take The Lead’s Leading Company Award.
The big news is recently Angel City became the “highest-valued women’s professional sports team in the world” as it was purchased for $250 million by “Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism,” according to USA Today.
According to Feldt, “The evolution of women’s sports serves as a compelling metaphor for the broader strides being made toward gender equality in society. Just as athletes break records, women are breaking through barriers that have historically restricted them in all domains, from politics to the workplace.”
“The shift in #sports coverage, participation and #leadership is a topic of discussion on the menu at the 2024 @Takeleadwomen #PowerUp conference.”
Leadership Takeaway of the Week:
“Just as athletes break records, women are breaking through barriers that have historically restricted them in all domains, from politics to the workplace.”
--Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president, Take The Lead
