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Women in Sports (Binti Sports)
Sports is a powerful tool that changes lives and provides livelihood opportunities for many. It also promotes gender equality as women in sports prove that men and women are equal by defying gender stereotypes and social norms. However, female athletes are more likely to be less paid, have fewer sponsors and little to no media coverage. The Women’s Sports Foundation reports that male athletes get $179 million more in athletic scholarships each year than females do. Girls also drop out of sports at two times the rate of boys as a result of underfunding and underpromotion of female sports.
According to UNESCO, 40% of all sports participants are women, yet women’s sports receive only around 4% of all sports media coverage which directly affects the sports’ ability to attract and maintain commercial sponsorships. Nielsen Sports reports that 84% of general sports fans – more than half of whom are men – are interested in women’s sport yet only 4% of the total commercial investment in sports goes into women’s sports. Male athletes in basketball, golf, soccer, baseball and tennis make anywhere from 15% to nearly 100% more than female athletes. NBA Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry was on track to make more than $40 million in salary alone during the 2019–20 season, while DeWanna Bonner, the highest paid WNBA player was eligible for a base salary of $127,500, a difference of almost 200% according to the National Basketball Association.
