I’ve got a confession to make – I’m not proud of it but, barring some notable exceptions such as athletics, I’ve never really thought that sportswomen were as good as their male counterparts. Not that I’ve given it that much thought to be honest.
But I did give it some thought this morning when the issue of the gender pay gap in the sporting world reared its head again thanks to a BBC survey to mark International Women’s Day, which revealed that four out of five British elite sportswomen believe they are underpaid compared to men.
The question I’ve been asking myself is why don’t I rate women so highly. Is it because I prefer watching the men (I am female after all)? Maybe it’s because I don’t think the women are as skilled as the men (I hope not) or maybe it’s because we just don’t rate sportswomen as highly as a society and, as a result, I simply haven’t had as much exposure to female sporting excellence.
Whatever the answer to that question – and it’s between my conscience and me – it’s the last of the three possibilities that is the real problem. Despite years of gender legislation, we have a tendency to value the aggression and physical strength that men bring to sport above other skills, particularly when it comes to team events like football and rugby.
And if we don’t rate the women as highly then neither does the media. As UK Sport’s outgoing chair Baroness Sue Campbell told the BBC: “The problem we’ve got is that the media exposure for women is not as good as it is for men’s. That means they are not as saleable. It’s not about being paid, it’s about being valued.”
I can’t agree entirely with that statement – better pay for women would surely have a knock on effect on the standard of women’s sport, which would go some way towards increasing the value placed on it. The difference in coverage between women and men’s sport is huge, however, and ultimately closing that gap is what will make the difference.
But it’s a catch 22 situation. The media isn’t going to give more coverage to women if the fan base isn’t there and the fan base is not going to build up that quickly while the media isn’t giving them much coverage.
With luck the Olympic and Paralympic Games will prove to be a bit of a catalyst for change. But memories are short so I’m going to start in my own small way. Next time women’s sport comes on the television, I’m not going to switch over to watch the men on the other channel.