Ever since the ideas of feminism and egalitarianism became global, primarily after the expansion of technology in the latter half of the twentieth century allowing a plethora of ideas to travel pole-to-pole and impact the lives of millions, there has been a conscious effort by many to accommodate the fundamentals of these ideas in their respective fields. However, so it happens that a field that pulls in a whopping near-total of $400 billion dollars annually on a global scale remains fiercely divided on the terms of gender and biological sex: Sports. A field notorious for the mammoth gender pay gap and constant controversies on their insistence of division of sports on the basis of gender has only gained more scrutiny in the recent years with the rise of social media and online activism.
A major reason influencing the economics of this pay gap will be however, as some might argue, the popularity of the given sports and not the gender associated with them in particular. A great example would be that of the internationally beloved sport of tennis which
has the least amount of gender pay gap found globally, which many people owe to equal star-power and ability of both male and female tennis stars to pull in sponsors and viewerships as opposed to sports where one gender’s popularity vastly overtakes the others such as cricket.
Yet this argument too can be countered by pointing out the sheer disadvantage that any women are made to face in various countries on social, political and cultural parameters, which discourages them from getting the required set of training and exposure to ensure an equal share of the ratings market and in the long run, a fair pay.
Additionally, the difference between the concepts of gender identity and biological sex have also sharply divided people, both in and out of the feminist and egalitarian community. Many organizations have opposed the participation of transgender women in women’s competing categories citing a natural biological advantage at the cost of questioning a person’s gender and sexual orientation itself; Many also argue that the gender division of sports should have been done with ages ago to abide with the changing ideologies and the more progressive mindsets of today’s world where women and men urge to be seen as equals, even if it means disregarding the biologically proven strengths that are associated with somebody’s biological sex or gender. Men are proven to have larger and denser muscle mass, stiffer connective tissue, increased capacity in rapid exertion of muscles among other anatomical factors, that can prove to be an advantage in the field against the competing women who too deserve an equal chance at taking the medal home. However, the other side argues that athletes should always be given a level-playing field to be able to perform to the best of their abilities for the pride of their nations and themselves.
Whether or not these factors will truly ever be blindsided in order to fulfil the yardstick through which gender equality today is measured by, is a topic the world and I seek to observe and debate on, but never at the cost of someone’s dignity and pride.
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