Gender equality
Gender equality refers to the equal treatment and representation of both men and women in any aspect humanity. Gender equality ideologies arose from the beliefs that there were many forms of gender inequalities and injustices, mostly the females being the victims. The equality between men and women has become one of the most talked about in sport, politics, and society and education sectors all over the world. The efforts to foster equality between men and women have helped to improve the lives of millions of citizens worldwide. Even though there are still some kinds of inequalities, especially in third world countries, gender equality has helped attain three major goals. These include gender mainstreaming, which is the integration of gender related perspectives into countries’ policies and formulation of legislations that foster equal treatment of all genders. The third goal is the formulation of specified measures that promote the advancement of girls and women, who are the victims of any kind of gender inequality.
Women face various barriers in different fields such as education, labor, sports and even in family set ups. Sports have emerged as one of the areas where women can really make their impact felt worldwide. Women and girls face different types of challenges in their efforts to take part in sports, an issue that leads to most females failing to attain their potential which would otherwise make them reap the benefits of sports and physical activities. All over the world, women are discriminated and stereotyped in the sports world. female athletes for instance, get little media coverage, others are subjected to derogatory and sexist language from media people and society as a whole.
The sporting community epitomizes various gender stereotypes which have been persistently affecting gender equality all over the world hence; it has led to the resistance of any meaningful gender reforms. Through the creation of opportunities for girls and women to get involved in sports, society can empower the female members of the society at individual levels. The empowerment can be done by promoting the ladies’ self confidence, team work skills, leadership and winning or success mentality. This involvement will provide a challenge to existing norms of gender and roles in the society. Sports play a role in giving a chance which women can redefine the concepts of masculinity and feminity and at the same time challenge the stereotypes that label females as weak or inferior individuals. This will be a demonstration to the community that women are able to perform just as well as men given equal opportunities and resources. The promotion of women’s and girls’ engagement in sports can be very instrumental in gender equality and in empowering women and general social changes in society.
For gender equality t be attained in the sporting world, there is need for the eradication of the existing disparities in participation of sporting activities. Currently, sports are considered to be something masculine. Very few women are given the opportunity to fully take part in sport. This is more so in school where female students are given the mentality that sports are not a woman’s niche. Efforts to achieve gender equality have been spearheaded by several human rights groups as well as governments. Sport was identified as one of those areas where gender equality can be boosted. This led to the increased participation of women in sport activities. Today, there are female teams for almost all sports. Events like the Olympics currently feature both men and women in all the registered games. This has boosted gender equality whereby women are given same media focus, equal chances and equal recognition in sports. This helps boost their confidence and enhance their stature in society because of the increased responsibility, recognition and respect.
The equal participation is not only in sport, currently, women are increasingly finding their way into activities that were initially exclusively for men. Women today have access to proper education just like the boy child. The labor industry has also become sensitive about gender equality. Many organizations and employers are now stressing on giving equal opportunities to both men and women as long as they are qualified professionals. This could be because of the change in the earlier mentalities where women were degraded as weak and poor individuals who could not perform to the levels that men can. Even in senior national jobs like the military, where women could not get such slots, there are now women holding some of those positions. Therefore, it is clear that to achieve gender equality, there is need to promote equal participation of all genders in every aspect of human activity. Only then will the fruits of gender equality be realized in society. Gender disparities in sport, education, labor sectors and society should be eradicated to ensure this is achieved.
Sport is known to help in enhancing gender equality in different ways. In the past, there were cases where there was a lot of gender disparities in terms of rewards given to sports people. Women and men would all take part in a particular sporting event but the winners would only be men. Women were not given any form of recognition for their efforts, something that was demoralizing the female gender. This was a chauvinistic approach which has changed in the modern world of sports. Today, sports are more organized in that in each sport event, there are male and female categories. In such a set up, there is a very fair and healthy platform to promote competition because women can now take part in competitions with more ambition of getting rewards in their category. The gender equality in terms of giving rewards in sport has helped to provide women with opportunities to pursue their dreams and objectives knowing they also have an equal chance of getting rewards just like the men in the sport.
The disparities in terms of rewards are not restricted to just sport. In the labor market, only men used to be rewarded with promotions and other forms of rewards like pay rise by their employers. Women were treated as thought they were inexistent because of chauvinism and bias. The education sector was also hampered by disparities in that only the boy child was thought to have the right to access quality education. This was mostly experienced in the third world nations where women are degraded and overlooked. In the political sector, women found it hard to get elected to any kind of position. However, with the gender equality campaign, women are now equals of men. They now access education just like the boys. Even now days there are women holding senior political offices as well as the corporate world. Women are now getting the rewards of gender equalities. Even though the gender disparities in terms of accessing rewards for their efforts are not as significant as expected, it is fair to say that women are slowly beginning to be a force in every dimension. This is proven through the rewards they are receiving today. For instance, there are women who have received Nobel prices and other recognized awards not only in sport.
Another area where gender inequality has to be dealt with is in the media coverage. Women who take part in sports have in the past received very little coverage by the media compared to their male counterparts. In sports like basketball in the United States, the men’s basket ball teams receive so much media coverage, the players are known by almost everyone in America. However, the women’s basket ball teams get very little attention from the media. They are almost nonexistent! There is need to promote equality in terms of media coverage for both men and women in sport. Sports should be a unifying factor hence both sexes must be represented equally. In sports like the Olympics, every gender must receive equal airplay during their performances. Only then will the women all over the world know that they can also work their way to the international stage and play in such big tournaments.
Equal media coverage for all genders must also be extended to other career fields like politics and management. This will help boost the confidence of the aspiring females and males who want to reach top levels in their respective careers. More so, the equal media coverage will help erase the mentality of gender inequality among the young generation who will grow up viewing both men and women as equal individuals who can achieve their potential as long as they do their best. There are still media coverage disparities based on gender in the world of sport and other areas. However, more efforts need to be put in to erase such disparities because they are disrupting factors which affect gender equality.
Gender equality is also affected by role modeling. Role models are important people in building confidence, self belief, work ethic and determination to achieve among young people. In sports, role models are those individuals who are known to be successful sports people. Young people will look up to such individuals as their mentors to work hard and emulate in future. Unfortunately, there is a huge disparity in terms of gender distribution of these mentors. There are more male sports men compared to women who can be viewed as potential mentors or role models. This makes the girl child lose their interest in sport just because they cannot identify any successful people in sport who are women. Therefore, the lack of mentors is an issue that is affecting gender equality in the sports world negatively. There is need for those women who have taken part in major sports events to come out and speak of their past exploits and how good it is to be a successful sports woman. This will provide young girls with the urge to get involved in sport since there will be people to look at and make them want to emulate their role models.
Role modeling is not only important n sport, even in education and career choices, individuals have to identify role models in order to make it. Women have in the past been less successful in many areas because of chauvinism and gender inequalities. However, with the renewed emphasis on gender equality in every aspect of human life, women have begun to succeed just like men. There are now famous women in sports like tennis, athletics and swimming. There are also learned individuals of all genders today. Therefore the successful women and men should provide guidance and inspiration for both young men and women. This will promote gender equality because both genders will benefit and have equal chance of succeeding.
There are factors that have promoted gender inequality in the past which should be discouraged. Apart from the other disparities, there is the issue of the use of discriminatory language in society. In the past, women were regarded as an inferior gender. Therefore, they were discriminated and would often receive abusive language from the males. Those women who managed to perform well in sports, education and other careers were greeted with offensive language which was demoralizing. To enhance gender equality, women in society, especially sports, should not be abused but encouraged to perform even better. This will be to the benefit of the future generations as well as to the women in society because they will become independent and dependable people in society.
Gender equality can only be achieved through policy reforms in society. This will involve them streamlining of the institutional and society structure to provide women with equal opportunity to take part in decision making, responsibility and many other areas that are dominated by men like in sports. There are many groups in the world today advocating for gender equality. The reforms should be meant to empower women, who are mostly affected by gender inequality, to be dependable, responsible, confident and hardworking individuals in society. This will be beneficial to both genders. Such policies would make society a friendly place for women who have the past been abused, mistreated and sidelined by the men because of cultural, religious and chauvinistic assumptions.
Women’s participation in sport will be specifically beneficial in several ways. First, sports would help in promoting the health of both women and men. Initially, sport was viewed as a man’s niche. However, physical activity for women and girls also would help them have a health life. Physical activities will reduce chances of diseases and conditions like obesity which affect human beings who have little physical activity. It will also promote women’s confidence that they can do anything that men can do as long as they are provided with the opportunities.
Sport will help women know how to work in teams and promote their teamwork skills. This will help build a good relationship between and among women and men. They will also have the chance to identify role models and try to emulate them in what they do. There is also a chance that gender equality promotes academic success of women because they will have the opportunity to work and achieve what they want. Sport provides women with focus and discipline which are instrumental factors in academic success. Other benefits of sport include workplace skills, community and economic development, peace and national building.
Therefore, given the leadership and teamwork skills and self confidence, women and girls can challenge the norms of society which seem to degrade women. Even with the tough situations and conditions that women face today, their increased participation in sports can increase their recognition and role in society. Women should continue to take part in sports, strive to get good education and fight to get equal opportunities like men in the society. With the help of society groups and human rights groups, women can advocate for reforms in the society and policies that will provide equal chance and treatment for both women and women in the world. Gender equality will play a very important role in ensuring that the social, economic and political aspects of human life are promoted and human rights for both women and men are upheld.
References
Connolly, S. (2005). Gender Equality (Illustrated ed.). London: Black Rabbit Books.
Dorall, C., & Roberts, M. (2005). Gender Equality: A Decade of Commonwealth Action : a Reference Book for Gender Ministers. London: Commonwealth Secretariat.
Eya, R. (2005). Gender Equality: From a Christian Perspective. New Jersy: Ifendu Pulications.
Healey, J. (2009). Gender Equality. London: Spinney Press.
Inglehart, R., & Norris, P. (2003). Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World (illustrated, reprint ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
International Labour Office. (2007). Gender Equality Around the World: Articles from World of Work Magazine 1999-2006. New York: International Labour Organization.
Kabeer, N., Agneta, S., & Magnus, E. (2007). Global Perspectives on Gender Equality: Reversing the Gaze (illustrated ed.). New York: Routledge.
McClain, L. C., & Grossman, J. L. (2012). Gender Equality: Dimensions of Women's Equal Citizenship (illustrated ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Miller, F. P., Vandome, A. F., & McBrews, J. (2010). Gender Equality. London: Alphascript Publishing.
Rosner, S., & Shropshire, K. L. (2004). The Business of Sports (illustrated ed.). New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Ruxton, S. (2004). Gender Equality and Men: Learning From Practice (illustrated ed.). New York: Oxfam.
Sainsbury, D. (1996). Gender, Equality, and Welfare States (illustrated, reprint ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Van Der Vleuten, J. M. (2007). The Price of Gender Equality: Members States and Governance in the European Union (illustrated, reprint ed.). New York: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Wright, E. O. (2009). Gender equality: transforming family divisions of labor. Michigan: Verso.
