Equality in sport still work in progress

It is not all doom and gloom, but there is still a need for Women’s Sport Week, writes former Scotland badminton player Susan Egelstaff

THESE are interesting times for both women’s sport and women in sport. The past few years have seen significant progress towards equality, but there is still much work to be done before we approach anything like parity and this is why specific initiatives to increase the involvement of women in every aspect of sport remain vitally important. Women’s Sport Week begins tomorrow with the aim of raising the profile of women’s sport by celebrating and showcasing it at every level and highlighting the important contribution women make. It says much about where we are that a concept such as Women’s Sport Week remains necessary. Women’s sport is, I believe, in a better place than it has ever been but there is still a way to go. When I was a young athlete, the only high-profile sportswoman to look up to was Sally Gunnell, so in that respect, things have improved with dozens of British sportswomen now household names.

While I never felt I was treated differently from the men during my playing days, I know that there are many female athletes, some of whom I trained alongside, who do not feel the same.

Significant inequities remain and in almost all areas, men’s sport still leads by a considerable distance. Male athletes remain far ahead of their female contemporaries in terms of media coverage, sponsorship and pay. Women’s sport receives only about five per cent of media coverage and less than one per cent of corporate sponsorship money. These are depressing figures.

There is hope, though. We have witnessed over the past few years that there is a voracious appetite for women’s sport and successful female athletes, most notably at the London 2012 Olympics and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, although the level of media coverage given to sportswomen remains frustratingly low.

Another challenge is the degree of sexism still present when women’s sport is covered as witnessed at the Rio Olympic Games. From commentators remarking on female athletes’ make-up, outfits and bodies, to a BBC commentator calling a female judo contest a “catfight”, and John Inverdale “forgetting” that Serena and Venus Williams had both won multiple Olympic gold medals, there were a disappointing number of instances.

But there is a positive that comes from these examples which is that every occurrence of sexism was called out. A decade ago, most of the remarks would not even have been noticed. While, clearly, it would be better if it didn’t happen at all, the first step towards eradicating sexism is to acknowledge it and we are now at that stage.

It is by no means all doom and gloom in Scotland. Just two weeks ago, the senior national women’s football team made history by qualifying for their first major tournament when they secured their place at Euro 2017. It is hard to overstate how important this could be for the sport. In another important development, SSE announced they were to become the first major sponsor of women’s football in Scotland.

Other team sports have taken important steps forward in recent months too; Scottish Rugby have signed their first female professional player and, next weekend, Scotland’s first female professional basketball team, Caledonia Pride, will play their opening match in the Women’s British Basketball League.

In individual sports, Scotland’s female

athletes are faring even better. Eilidh Doyle, Lynsey Sharp and Katherine Grainger are among a number of female athletes who are as well-recognised as any of Scotland’s male athletes and their presence in the Scottish media continues to grow.

ALISON Walker, sports broadcaster and co-founder of Scottish Women in Sport (SWiS), agrees that progress is slowly happening but she is keen to emphasise that the work is not yet done.

“I do think we have made some progress because 10 years ago, I would never have heard the phrase, ‘I want to be the next Hannah Miley or Kim Little’, so that’s great,” she says. “But setting up SWiS made me realise just how far we still have to go.

“We’re still a long way behind our male counterparts and for me, the best example of this is in terms of media coverage. I think women’s sport needs to be on public service broadcasting to build up an audience, to attract sponsors and ultimately make the quality of the sport better. Men do watch women’s sport too so the audience is there. And in schools, we have to show girls that sport really does matter and that it’s an option for them.”

Increased coverage of female athletes is imperative for young girls in particular; it shows them that women can battle it out, and win, on the same platform as men. Sportswomen show young girls that being strong and athletic is something to aspire to, rather than being size zero; they show young girls that being ambitious and competitive are valuable assets, rather than being subservient and unassuming.

Progress is being made and that must be acknowledged and celebrated. But complacency must not set in and the push towards equality must continue. Women’s Sport Week begins tomorrow but let’s not forget the importance of increasing the profile for the other 51 weeks of the year. If progress continues, we will all reap the benefits.