Sport continued to be a male-dominated field for a long time, and to a great extent is even now. Right from the events that are given preference on the television to the people selected to comment on them, there are clear glimpses of gender inequality in this field.
Historically speaking, female athletes were seen on the periphery at all times, whether it was Olympics, tennis, swimming or any other sport. The sports institutions and media never gave them much importance. However, recently things have started changing in this field and the public view is also gradually undergoing a transformation. Here in this short article, we will acquaint you with some famous sports persons who are constantly pushing for gender equality in their respective domains. You can click here to learn more about the subject, as well as more such sportspersons.
Serena Williams
Serena first burst onto the tennis scene when she won her first major event in the year 1999, and then her first Grand Slam Championship four years afterwards. She has thoroughly established herself as a global women’s sport icon after having won 23 Grand Slam titles. Throughout this journey, she has answered nonsensical sexist questions put by the media. In 2017, she was asked multiple insensitive questions by media persons after the birth of her first child. Her ability to soak up endless nonsense directed at her, combined with her status as one of the biggest and most popular athletes of all time, has made her a global figure. In an open letter published back in 2016, Serena wrote about sexism, inspiration and how one can achieve even more in the difficult times.
Megan Rapinoe
Megan Rapinoe has evolved tremendously over the years and has become a well-recognised name in the football world. Often in the limelight for her Twitter brawls with none other than Donald Trump, she has accomplished far more than getting into arguments with the President. An excellent captain and a revered player, she led the US team to FIFA World Cup victory in 2015 and 2019, also helping them win the team Olympic gold in the year 2012.
She is an openly gay athlete of American descent, and has done plenty for women’s sport in the past one decade. Megan was one amongst the five players of the US women’s football team who took on the US Soccer Federation and filed a wage-discrimination federal complaint against it in 2016. As a result, the women footballers were handed a 30% wage increase, considered a significant one by many.
Andy Murray
There have been many moments when Andy Murray has supported gender equality in sports, making himself an important name in this movement. His stance on the subject came to fore in 2014 after he appointed Amelie Mauresmo as his coach. The news received a large number of sexist comments, from within the tennis fraternity too. He has also called out journalists for making casual sexist comments on multiple occasions.