A brief history of gender equality in sport
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From Katherine Switzer to Chris Ernst and Venus Williams to the U.S. women’s national soccer team, women have been pushing the boundaries of sport and changing perceptions for decades. Here we look at the continued demands for gender equality in sport.
1967
In 1967, it was unheard of for women to participate in an official marathon with doctors believing that the effects of running such distances would result in a masculine body. Seasoned runner, Kathrine “Kathy” Switzer believed otherwise and entered the Boston marathon as K.V. Switzer. This led to one of the most iconic photographs in sporting history when two miles into the race, Boston Marathon official Jock Sempletried tried unsuccessfully to pull her off the course. Switzer demonstrated that women could not only participate in highly-strenuous sports, but they could also excel at them as well.
1973
Billie Jean King brought equality to women’s tennis. She organized the Women’s Tennis Association, threatened to lead a boycott of the US Open if the prize money for winning the finals was not equal for men and women, and easily defeated the former men’s champion Bobby Riggs in the highly publicised ‘Battle of the Sexes’ match. Game, set and match to King.
1976
Two-time Olympic rower Chris Ernst was captain of Yale University’s women’s crew team that led her teammates in protest at not having proper showers to use after practice. This wasn’t just any protest though. The athletes stripped to their waist in Yale’s athletic office, with the words ‘Title IX’ drawn on their bodies in reference to the 1972 legislation that mandated gender equity in educational programs receiving federal funding. Not only was a woman’s locker room soon added to the boathouse but the cause of Title IX had become a rallying cry with other women on other campuses.
2007
After pressure from Venus Williams and other players, Wimbledon announced that women’s tennis players would receive equal prize money to the men’s. Previously in 2006 Williams famously wrote an op-ed in The Times of London explaining that Wimbledon had made her feel like a ‘second class champion.’ A year later she received $1.4 million for her fourth Wimbledon victory - the same amount as Roger Federer, the men’s champion..
2017
Frustrated by compensation and the federation's inequitable treatment of its girls' and women's programs, the women’s national hockey team announced a boycott of the upcoming world championship if U.S.A. Hockey, the sport’s national governing body, did not increase the women’s wages.
Within weeks, the team reached a landmark four-year deal with U.S.A. Hockey. As well as a $2,000 training stipend each month and larger bonuses for winning medals, the team also received the same travel and insurance as the men’s national team.
2020
In 2019, the U.S. women’s national soccer team sued its employer, the U.S. Soccer Federation, for gender discrimination — the first known lawsuit of its kind in professional sports. This was a culmination of years of pushing for pay equality, bolstered by the team’s fourth World Cup win.
In December last year, U.S. Soccer reached an agreement with the U.S. Women's National Team to resolve policies regarding four working conditions: charter flights, venue selection, professional support and hotel accommodations. The victory appears to be step in a larger picture of USWNT's on going fight for equality within the women's game and wage discrimination.
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