Comment: Unequal playing fields: The gender disparities in sport

Disparities between men and women in sports are evident across various roles, from players to coaches and administrators. In football, for instance, the gender pay gap is stark: the highest paid male footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo, earns £173 million annually, while the highest-paid female footballer in 2024, Aitana Bonmati, earns around £830,000.

Despite recent progress, such as equal match fees for England's male and female national teams, significant gaps remain in salaries, media coverage, and sponsorship opportunities. These disparities highlight the ongoing challenges women face in achieving equality in the sports industry.

Women are increasing their visibility in sport but are still a long way off. As of 4^th September 2024, only 4 out of 12 managers in the WSL were female, and at the most recent Women's World Cup in 2023 12 out of 32 countries were coached by women. The Paris Olympics averaged 15,335 spectators per football match for the women, and 25,686 for the men. This, compared to the men's Euro 24 averaging 52,574, and the women's Euro 22 averaging 18,544, demonstrates the growth of the women's game globally, but it's not over yet.

The Powerhouse Project are an organisation acting as a driving force for change for women in football. They have recently advertised for cohort 4 of their UEFA B Preparation Programme, in partnership with the FA and Nike to support and empower female coaches. In addition, the first ever cohort for Pixel FC Academy just launched, in partnership with Google Pixel UK, for women aspiring to break into the football media and content creation industry.

As an alumnus of cohort 3 of the UEFA B Preparation Programme, I have witnessed first-hand the intensity and desire of all involved to break down the barriers to women within the sporting industry. The programme consisted of FA educators supporting our personal development as coaches and challenging our methods to ultimately make us comfortable being uncomfortable, how many women feel stepping onto male-dominated courses.

To further demonstrate the power of the project, we spent every Friday for 12 weeks at Tottenham Hotspur Women's and Chelsea Women's training ground. The environment itself allowed us to imagine what can be possible, and learning first-hand from Vicky Jepson and Emma Hayes, to name a few, was invaluable.

Sport has long been a male-dominated domain, but with organisations like The Powerhouse Project, women can find their own place within the industry allowing them to thrive and further contribute to an area of society that many receive enjoyment from.

Whilst this organisation specifically is aimed at women, there's many more that people can get involved with to ultimately support the development of the industry. Organisations include, Women in Football, Football Beyond Borders, and Kick It Out.

Gemma Dunn is a lecturer in Sports Education at BNU.