With the 2024 Olympic Games underway, the world is celebrating a major milestone: for the first time ever, men and women are competing as equals. This is a significant achievement, but the fight for gender equality in sports still has a long way to go. Female athletes face barriers like a lack of representation in leadership roles, low prize money, and discriminatory attitudes from spectators and media.
In this article, we interviewed female athletes and physical education teachers and coaches working with them to find out more about the challenges that they face. Their responses helped to shed light on how gender inequality impacts the lives of female sport practitioners, and how it can be addressed.
The interview data shows that gender inequality in sports is widespread and rooted in the structures of society. This is confirmed by the results of our survey of 207 European countries. The highest ATGEQS values are found in the Nordic region, where the high ratings reflect strong welfare policies and progressive gender norms. The fact that these regions have high numbers of female athletes is also a contributory factor.
The unequal attention that female athletes receive may seem minor to some, but it has a direct impact on their performance and can reduce their motivation, self-esteem, and future expectations of success. The key to making progress towards gender equality in sports is collaboration between all stakeholders. This can be achieved by supporting athletes who defy gender stereotypes and make inspiring role models, while challenging gender assumptions in the wider society.