Women competing in Obstacle Racing

Why do women not compete in sports that men are predominant in? Well, here is why!  This Blog is a 7- to 10-minute read.

Whilst there are women competing in Obstacle Racing, there are not enough compared to their male counterparts. Let’s find out why?

See educational facts about it:

https://encompass.eku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1432&context=honors_theses

https://www.womeninsport.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Womens-Sport-Say-Yes-to-Success.pdf

https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/public/Women%20and%20Sport.pdf

https://explore.ucalgary.ca/gender-equality-in-sport

https://mennohenselmans.com/why-women-should-not-train-like-men/

https://www.irunfar.com/2015/03/sponsorship-and-prize-money-gender-inequality-in-endurance-sports.html

In Layman’s terms: I have taken snippets from various articles of Women in sports and consolidated them:

Women don’t work as hard and the Pay Gap Problem

Because the races are shorter and the stages are fewer, professional female athletes don’t put in the same amount of training hours that men do. Since there is no equal work, there should be no equal pay. The counter-argument to this is that athletes insist they do indeed train as hard, but that they lack equal opportunities to prove themselves alongside men.

Women aren’t as popular

There is a lack of market appeal in women’s endurance, and ultimately the market determines how much an athlete should get paid. Spectators don’t want to pay to watch females race. The counter-argument: The perceived lack of market appeal exists because the media doesn’t cover female racing equally.

Women don’t get enough sponsors.

Sponsors help pay salaries and women don’t get enough. Companies aren’t interested in female athletes because they don’t have as much exposure. It’s not sexist; it’s just a business decision. But, if women have trouble getting sponsors, it’s because they face handicaps in media and race opportunities. It is not true that female sports are a bad business decision.

Women aren’t big enough, fast enough, strong enough.

Biologically, men are built better suited for sport. You can’t overlook the fact that men are simply stronger. They work harder and faster than women. The counter-argument observes that smaller athletes use different tactics and techniques than larger ones, but that doesn’t make them any less athletic, gifted or entertaining. Bigger is not always better, especially in endurance.

Women don’t get enough media coverage.

Why do people consider women’s sports as less deserving than men’s?

Many people think that if there was to be more media coverage or sponsorship of women’s sport it would be more popular with audiences. The media says that if women’s sport generated more interest in the first place then they would invest more time and money into it.

Most people agree on what it takes to make a sport successful: commercial appeal, interest from the general public, and media coverage. The fact is that sponsors are less likely to promote teams or individuals who don’t have lots of media exposure, and not many women in sports do. The Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation found that in 2013, women’s sports received only 7% of coverage and a shocking 0.4% of commercial sponsorships.

The lack of sponsorships and advertising campaigns also contribute to the increasing gender gap. Even though multiple brands and companies hire athletes to promote their products, few brands hire female athletes to become faces of their campaigns: most companies give preference to male sports stars.

The same is noted in mainstream media: much more time and space is invested in the lives of male stars as well as men’s only competitions than in women’s sports.

For these reasons, female athletes have less support, are less popular, have less of an audience, and the problem becomes a fish that bites its tail. The origin of inequality in sports is found in gender stereotypes and prejudices. Research conducted by Sant Joan de Deu Hospital in Barcelona, indicated that 80% of young girls do not meet the recommended amount physical activity by the World Health Organization .

Hence, to change the historical injustice of women in sports, we must start by changing today’s young generation of women.

Female Endurance isn’t news. The public just isn’t interested. Since 50% of the public isn’t interested in women’s sports, they shouldn’t get half the coverage. Countering this, it can be argued that it’s impossible to measure interest when there is little coverage, and few opportunities to see women play.

Women have less competition.

Because fewer women are racing, the competition is soft. A woman who gets first female because she’s the only female does not deserve the same prize money as the first male who had to best hundreds of his competitors. But, female athletes should not be penalized because other women choose not to race. Especially at the elite level, both genders have put in comparable time and training. Female participation is growing. Remember that women have only been allowed to participate for a short amount of time.

What can we do to improve these glaring inequalities? Here are some ideas courtesy of The Women’s Sports Foundation:

Attend women’s sporting events;

Support companies that advocate for women’s athletics;

Encourage television stations and newspapers to cover women’s sports;

Sign up to coach a girls’ sports team, whether at the recreational or high school level;

Encourage young women to participate in sports; and,

Become an advocate: if you are or know a female athlete who is being discriminated against, advocate for her rights.

These are not women’s issues. These are societal issues of deep concern to both men and women. We don’t just need women fighting this battle—inequality lowers the quality of sport for us all, not to mention diluting the spirit of camaraderie and competition. We need to change this together.

In her book, As Good as Gold, Kathryn Bertine says that many devoted ESPN readers have promised to print out her columns and give them to their daughters to read. Kathryn thanks them, but suggests they also share her words with their sons. She writes:

I believe the beauty of athletics knows no gender boundaries, as stories of loss, triumph, underdogs, and superstars all ring true to male and female athletes alike. Giving boys articles on female athletes will have an incredible if subtle impact on gender equality. Straight from the womb, many girls, like boys, have innate athletic drive and ambition. Imagine what strides could be made—what female athletes of all ages and abilities could achieve—if women’s sports were given equal coverage and attention to men’s.