Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives past West Virginia guard JJ Quinerly (11) in a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, on March 25, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa.
(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
This year’s NCAA tournament might represent another high-water mark for women’s sport as new standards are set for ratings and even more pressure falls on the game’s superstars.
Modernising facilities can provide a short-term excitement, but it’s their management over the long term that will influence whether women and girls participate.
Spain’s Esther González holds the trophy celebrating at the end of the Women’s World Cup soccer final between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 20, 2023.
(AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
By examining the FIFA Women’s World Cup performances, we can gain insights into the efforts countries are making to address gender inequality beyond sports.
Tourists walk past the Olympic rings in front of Paris City Hall with one year until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony, on July 26, 2023.
(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
The IOC needs to look beyond gender parity and work with international federations to address athletes’ conditions of participation in sports to achieve true gender equality.
A United States women’s national team member takes a shot during a FIFA Women’s World Cup send-off soccer match in San Jose, Calif., on July 9, 2023. Sponsorship and marketing deals with women athletes are often performative and exploitative.
(AP Photo/Josie Lepe)
While positive change has been seen, especially surrounding this year’s Women’s World Cup, there is still much work to be done by organizations governing women’s professional sports.
The successful Australia-New Zealand bid for the Women’s World Cup made much of the tournament’s potential to build the game for girls and young women. History suggests this is easier said than done.
Chicago Sky’s Rebekah Gardner (right) drives at Minnesota Lynx’s Rachel Banham during second half WNBA preseason basketball action in Toronto on May 13, 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
The first WNBA game in Canada was more than just a game — it was about the future of women’s sports.
USA players pose for photos after winning gold at the IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship in Brampton, Ont. on April 16, 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
The presence of women and girls was on display in all aspects of the tournament and the fresh air of empowerment could signal a new dawn for women’s and girls’ hockey.
Pentathlete Dame Mary Peters, commemorated in Belfast, is one of three statues of sportswomen in the UK.
Stephen Barnes/Sport / Alamy Stock Photo
True gender equity in sport is not simply a matter of paying lip service to equal rights and opportunities. It involves interrogating outdated assumptions and being open to rewriting the rule book.
Crowds at women’s professional football matches are breaking attendance records.
Alamy
Record attendance of professional women’s matches show support is higher than at any time in history.
College basketball player Paige Bueckers, right, of the Connecticut Huskies, has over 900,000 followers on Instagram as of September 2021.
Elsa/Getty Images
Women college athletes face far more limited career prospects than men. The NCAA’s new endorsement rules may help level the playing field when it comes to making money from their athletic ability.
The German gymnastics team at the Tokyo Olympics wore full-legged unitards that went down to their ankles, eschewing the traditional bikini cut that ends high on the hip. The athletes said they were trying to combat the sexualization of young women and girls in their sport, which is trying to recover from a decades-long sexual abuse scandal.
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The Tokyo Olympic Games are being called the most gender-equal Games ever — but does that label hold up under scrutiny?
American sprinter Allyson Felix celebrates with her daughter Camryn after finishing second in the women’s 400-metre race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on June 20.
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Tim Breitbarth, Swinburne University of Technology; Adam Karg, Swinburne University of Technology; Emma Sherry, Swinburne University of Technology, and Kasey Symons, Swinburne University of Technology
In the absence of live sport, curated lists have abounded- but they have been mostly by men, featuring men’s sports.
Sports have been out of action during the coronavirus lockdown, but the recovery period is a chance to redefine sporting success beyond winning and profit margins.
There are still fewer women coaches in all levels of UK football.
Chalermpon Poungpeth/ Shutterstock
We interviewed 12 female head coaches working in all levels of English football. Gender discrimination and sexism were only two of the reasons women don’t reach top spots.
Women footballers are still fighting for stable footing.
Richard Sellers/PA Wire/PA Images
Corporate brands have a potentially lucrative opportunity with women’s hockey. All they need to do is have a little imagination and take a chance on long-term potential.