From Athletes to Administrators: Women in Sports

Gender inequality in sports is a subject that isn't new as sports is thought of predominantly as a man's world. From wage gaps to representation and access, female athletes are often at a disadvantage. It is not just the female athletes that are discriminated against in the sports world. Female coaches, referees, administrators, and businesswomen have also had to face the gender gap in the sports world.

The 2018 Women's Tennis US Open Finals, the 2019 Women's NCAA Basketball tournaments and the US Soccer team's legal fight for equal wages in 2019 are some of the highlights of gender inequality in sports in recent times. Nike weighed in on the issue with an advertisement titled "Dream Crazier" that featured Serena Williams, who was at the center of controversy on gender equality in the 2018 US Open, and various other female athletes. The campaign address the gender stereotype of labeling female athletes as "crazy" when they show emotion on the court/field.

And this is not the only campaign Nike has done, nor is Nike the only organization doing these sorts of campaigns to help bridge the gender gap. Women's equality in sports has been a hard-fought battle but, some organizations have helped women advance in sports. The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is one of these organizations. The WTA is a women's tennis organization founded by Billie Jean King, a professional tennis player and activist, in 1973. The WTA was built on the idea that women should have equal opportunity to earn money and recognition when it came to competing tennis at a professional level. The WTA is a separate entity from the ATP, which is the men's tennis organization.

The organization itself is impressive, but the women within it even more. Micky Lawler, Melissa Pine, and Donna Kelso are some of the women behind the WTA. Micky Lawler is the current president of the WTA and has been for the past 6 years. Mellissa Pine is the current vice president of the Global Program Development and has been in the WTA for 11 years. Donna Kelso is the current WTA and Grand Slam Supervisor and has been with the WTA for 23 years. All three of these women have spent considerable time in a leadership positions in the sports industry.

All three women had great things to add on the topic of gender equality and how the WTA is a key organization in continuing to support women's sports and close the gender gap.

"I think women have driven advancement in sports like men have driven advancements in sport"

— Micky Lawler, WTA President

Donna Kelso and Melissa Pine also dived into the origins of the WTA and its link to women's equality in sports.

Being an athlete is not the only job available for women in sports. From referee roles to coaches to administrators, the sports world has multiple career choices for women.

"The world of sport has so many opportunities for women that may not necessarily be evident or in the forefront. A lot of people think you become an athlete and then either you became a professional athlete or you become a coach and that's it. There's no other pathways to follow...There are so many roles and opportunities in administration for women that may not be pursued because they may not be aware of it"

— Melissa Pine, WTA Vice President of Global Program Development

Donna Kelso, who has worked at the WTA for 23 years, adds that the WTA administration and executive teams mostly consist of women at the top of the WTA.

When looking at the WTA website at their executive and WTA Tour team, it is clear to see that women are a majority in senior positions.

WTA Directory
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But, there is still inequality. Melissa Pine talks about how though women have come far, there is still room for growth.

However, tennis isn't the only sport where women are fighting the gender gap. Women's basketball is another. The most prominent gap between men and women in professional basketball is the pay.

Duru Tasman, a member of the Elon University Women Basketball Team, talked about the gender gap between men and women in basketball both nationally and at a collegiate level.

As Duru said, the wage gap and media representation between men and women in basketball is something that has to be changed. Looking at the five highest-paid players, both men and women, in the 2021 basketball season it was clear to see the staggering difference.

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While the men were making millions of dollars, the women were left with only six-figure numbers. Even when looking at the highest-paid men and women basketball players this year in 2021, there was a huge difference in their salaries. LeBron James made around 45 million and Sue Bird only made the maximum $221,450, even though achievement wise both are on an equal level.

"There is a huge pay gap between women NBA and NBA. There was a comparison between Sue Bird and LeBron James, who almost had the same equal dates [stats], like championship wise and the best MVP wise...she makes six figures while LeBron is getting million while they're on the same levels in equalizations [stats] and success"

— Duru Tasman, Elon Women's Basketball Student-Athlete

To make LeBron's salary, Sue Bird's salary would have to be multiplied about 207 times.

NBA vs WNBA Wage
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However, it is not just at a national level where there is this gap. Looking at coach's salaries at a collegiate level as well shows a difference between men and women. Elon University's recent 2021 Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) survey showed this.

2021 Elon University Men vs. Women Coaches Salary
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Elon Women Basketball Head Coach, Charlotte Smith, weighed in on her experience as both an athlete and coach on the gender gap.

"I think some of the hardships in sports, in terms of women sports, are the inequities that exist and the expectation to do more with less"

— Charlotte Smith, Elon Women's Basketball Head Coach

One example of inequity can be seen in the representation and promotion of Elon's Women Basketball Team vs. the Elon Men's Basketball Team. Even though both basketball teams posted their links to purchase tickets on their own Facebook pages, Elon Athletics only shared the men's post on their official Facebook page, Elon Phoenix.

Although this is as small as not sharing a post, there can be major impacts. Student attendance is one as the women's basketball post may not gain as much traffic as the men's. This is because now the men's basketball has a wider audience to reach now after their post got shared on Elon Athletic's main page. This translates to a lack of representation for the Elon Women's Basketball team in the media as the Elon Athletics is not sharing and promoting the women's content, but only the men's.

And the players are aware of this gap, as said by Duru Tasman when she talked about coming to Elon and seeing the same gaps present for women and men as at the national level of basketball.

"Then I came to Elon and same things do apply. Like men would choose their time first, then the women would choose theirs. And there's always more media towards men's basketball"

— Duru Tasman, Elon Women's Basketball Student-Athlete

And it is not only Elon Women's Basketball that has issues with the gender gap. Faith Shearer, the Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator, talks about her experience as a woman in sports administration.

"The reality is that I think women have been involved in all aspects of the sports industry. I think that there are certain places where we are very familiar with some of the things that women have achieved...But I think it's the accomplishments of women in other areas are not as well known or certainly not expected"

— Faith Shearer, Elon Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator

Faith goes on to talk about the experience of being "the only woman in the room" and how this experience "can be lonely at times." Faith's advice to young girls wanting to pursue a career in the sports industry is; knowing who you are and finding good people who will help you.

It is clear to see that even though sports have come a long way, there are still issues with gender equality and closing the gender gap. Both on and off the court. The issue of pay and representation is one that women are still fighting for. However, with the continued efforts of women like Donna Kelso, Mellisa Pine, Micky Lawler, Duru Tasman, Charlotte Smith, and Faith Shearer, progress can still be made. Another recent advertisement by Nike published in March 2020, echos this sentiment of pushing for a future where women in sports can bridge the gender gap.

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