An Even Playing Field

 There has been something that has been troubling me - women in sport. I am not talking us mere mortals on the business side; at 25% representation we are doing okay.

What about the amazing women that devote their life to sport, the Athletes. When was the last time you watched a woman play sport on TV? Tennis? Anything else? Why is that? I have racked my brain and I can’t figure it out. I am as guilty as anyone. I played netball and cricket competitively all my life, but apart from a few live games, I don’t follow anything on TV. According to the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation in 2013, 7% of coverage globally was to women’s sport and of the total value of commercial sponsorship, only 0.4% went to women’s sport.

There are countless articles on the pay difference between men and women in professional sport, from the highest paid (Sharapova) all the way down. But that is the wrong focus, its actually all our fault, yes, you, me and the rest of the world. Would we ask IBM or JP Morgan why two sales guys are paid differently when they bring in different amounts. Of course not! So, why would we expect a team owner, or a federation to pay men and women the same, when as consumers we are giving all our eyeballs and all our dollars to men’s sports?

Every parent wants their little girl to play sports and for every girl it’s the same as the boys – the joy of winning, the pain of losing, the training, the early mornings, the teamwork, the confidence, the pride… what is it that causes the disconnect between participating and watching? I always dreamed I would represent my country one day, like every boy does of playing in the NBA, EPL or the Olympics, but imagine if I did, no-one may even be watching. How does that happen?

I don’t have the answers to these questions and I might be completely wrong and have caused offence, so I am sorry. But I would love for us to globally back women in sport, not with a speaker’s spot in a conference or a bit of coverage on International Women's Day, but by watching them on TV and going to the stadium. If we do this in our own little way, then corporate sponsorship will also follow and then maybe we might be able to solve the pay inequality. But from the little I have spoken to professional female athletes, they just want to be recognized for the hard work and dedication they have shown to sport; it’s not about money, it’s about respect.

OpenSponsorship is proud to represent female athletes; please see our video highlighting some of our professional athletes and what sports means to them.