International Women’s Day 2023 | From Serena Williams to Cléopâtre Darleux: Those initiatives from female athletes contributing for gender equality in sport
Whether it’s about representation, visibility, support or salaries, there are still imbalances between men and women in society. And sport is no exception.
At International Women’s Day (March 8) Olympics.com highlights women who have fought to redress this imbalance in the world of sport.
In the sports of fencing, soccer, tennis, athletics and BMX – to name a few – there are women at the forefront of improving gender equality. Here are some of the many working to improve the conditions for women in sport.
Increasing visibility for female athletes
While some traditional media has been slow to promote women’s sport, there are athletes who have chosen to tackle the problem by creating their own platforms. These initiatives have drawn attention to female heroes of the sports world while inspiring new generations by providing them with role models.
Founded by an American BMX freestyle rider Angie Marino and former BMX racer Beatrice Tang, The Bloom BMX is a website dedicated exclusively to women’s sports. Since its launch in 2019, the website has showcased the women’s BMX scene, covering all disciplines from park to racing to dirt and flat. Aside from being a news platform, the site has also featured young aspiring riders like Japan’s BMX flat riders Carin Hommura, who attended the Tokyo 2020 Closing Ceremony. She wasn’t well known outside of Japan before The Bloom BMX wrote about her, but the platform has helped her find new sponsors.
Most recently 2020 France’s world fencing champion Ysaora Thibus launched the EssentiELLE Stories platform with the aim of creating a place to tell the stories of female athletes.
“It struck me that there isn’t a lot of visibility and media coverage of women’s sport,” Thibus explained during an exclusive interview with Olympics.com. “I just wanted to tell the stories of athletes who perform well but also have something to say [to reveal] the women who hide behind the results.”
Thibus published video interviews on women’s sports with high-profile athletes such as Allyson Felix And Estelle Mosellyas well as telling the story of Paralympian Marie Patouilletwhich highlighted the challenges she faced in reaching the highest level of her sport.
“I think women should know more about their results in the media. But even when they do, they don’t necessarily have the time to say what they want. If traditional media doesn’t do it, we can open the debate ourselves or on social media to reach the interested people.”
Changing regulations for the better
When it comes to fighting gender inequality in sport, pay gaps are often talked about, but there are other issues that need to be addressed, such as maternity and menstruation.
Thanks to the openness of many women athletes, these issues have entered the mainstream and changes are taking place.
France’s gold medal-winning Tokyo 2020 handball goalkeeper, Cleopâtre Darleux became a mother in 2019. She was instrumental in the creation of the collective agreement for French handball, which promotes the rights of female athletes even during maternity. It is the first agreement of this kind in French sport.
US soccer legend and gold medalist from London 2012 Megan Rapinoe has also played a key role in the fight for gender equality in her sport, championing both women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ community.
Their efforts bore fruit in 2022 when the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) ruled in favor of equal pay for women’s and men’s teams competing in friendly matches and major tournaments, including the World Cup.
At the She Believes Cup in February, the Canadian women’s team also used the platform offered by the event to demand equal consideration and income as their male counterparts.
More support for women in sport
Serena Williams And Allyson Felix are two of the most successful and influential women in sport. The former won 73 singles titles, 23 doubles titles and four Olympic gold medals in a glittering tennis career, while the latter won seven Olympic titles and 20 World Championships medals, making her the most successful athlete in the history of the World Athletics Championships.
But beyond their status as legends in their sport, both Williams and Felix are entrepreneurial role models and leaders of their own brands. The philosophies of these athlete brands have seen firsthand the issues women face in sport and offer women the kind of support and role models they never had themselves.
Williams brand S from Serena offers clothing in sizes that are often difficult to obtain, which she prefers to call that great size in contrast to plus size.
For her part, Felix, in partnership with her sponsor Athleta and the NGO &Mother, set up a fund that will provide free childcare for athletes, coaches and staff during the 2022 World Athletics Championships.
While there is still a long way to go, it is thanks to these athletes that progress is being made. And the initiatives they have launched will inspire the next generation to continue making the changes needed to improve the world of sport.