SPORT Poll reveals gender gap in sports

Major discrepancies in how males and females see women in sport, Killarney Advertiser survey finds

By Adam Moynihan

A new survey carried out by the Killarney Advertiser has revealed striking differences in the ways that men and women view women’s current standing in sport. The poll, which was carried out online to mark Women in Sport Week, found that 91% of women feel that professional male and female athletes should get equal pay, compared to just 26% of men. When asked to expand on their answers, many of the male respondents said that pay should be commensurate to the revenue generated by the teams/leagues in question. “More people interested in men’s sport means more revenue because of the men. Why should females get a share of this?” one man asked. On the other side of the argument, a woman noted: “They’re playing the same sport, in the same environment, putting in the same commitment and time. Why shouldn’t the pay be the same?”

When asked if they believe that equality exists between men and women in sport, the majority of respondents, male and female, said that they do not (90%). However, there were significant discrepancies between males and females within that percentage.

Just 0.2% of the women who took our poll said that equality does exist, compared with 21% of men.

There are also major differences in how men and women view media coverage. Just 15% of women said that women’s sport gets a fair amount of media coverage, compared with 57% of men. The issue of trans inclusion has been in the news recently as the LGFA adopted a policy that will allow trans women to play the sport, subject to conditions. Girls aged 12-15 will need to provide medical confirmation that they are transitioning while players aged 16 and over must provide records that show that their testosterone levels are at or below the required number.

Our survey indicates that the majority of our readers are against the policy. Over half (56%) of women said they are not in favour with almost three-quarters (74%) of men stating likewise. Over twice as many women (27% versus 12%) said they are still undecided on the issue. The one thing that both men and women appear to agree on is the direction that women’s sport is headed. Roughly six out of seven (86%) of our respondents said that things are getting better for women in sport, with the remaining 14% stating that things are staying the same. None of the people who took the survey (0%) said that things are getting worse for women in sport.