Pros and Cons - Debbie Newman, Ben Woolgar 2014

Sport, equalise status of men and women in
Section F. Culture, education and sport

The arguments below consider the general arguments for equalising the status of men and women in sport. You may debate this issue in principle or a motion may specifically ask you to look at equalising airtime, prizes or salaries. In all areas, the debate asks whether the market should be allowed to dictate terms or whether intervention is needed to produce equality.

Pros

[1] Men and women are equal and by giving different prizes or different coverage, you suggest otherwise and send out the message to society that women are inferior.

[2] Men’s sport has had a head start in attracting a following. The current bias in reporting exacerbates this by giving less exposure and profile to women’s sport. Many people assume that women’s sports such as cricket or football are dull or slow without having seen them. If the media gave more attention to women’s sports, then the fan base would follow. This can be seen with women’s tennis which attracts large audiences.

[3] Women, and young girls in particular, need to see prominent role models in sport. At the moment, they see cheerleaders on television who are there to support the men, not to achieve success in their own right.

Cons

[1] Sport is commercial and is driven by the market. Prizes reflect what sponsors are willing to pay. Sky shows the fixtures that people will watch. Commercial TV companies are not, and should not be asked to be, an engine for social change.

[2] If people want to watch more women’s sport, they should start buying tickets and the money and profile will follow. Already women’s sport has a higher profile than it used to, and it will continue to grow without intervention. There is no inherent sexism in coverage. In sports where there is an audience for watching women (athletics, gymnastics and tennis, for example), the events are shown on television. There is not the same audience for women’s rugby or cricket. Similarly, since 2007, the prizes for Wimbledon champions are equal.

[3] Men’s sport is faster, higher and stronger. People want the most entertaining spectacle and they find it watching men. The fastest 100m will (probably) always be run by a man. Men’s sport will probably always maintain an edge because of this and there is nothing wrong with that. Countries will always highlight the international success of their female sports stars (Russia and China celebrate their gymnasts, the USA their tennis stars and the UK their cyclists and sailors), so there will always be role models, even if domestic leagues are not given as much airtime.

Possible motions

This House believes that men’s and women’s sports should be given equal airtime.

This House would equalise the status of men and women in sport.

This House supports equal prizes for men and women in sport.

Related topics

Affirmative action

Women fighting on the frontline

Sport, regretting the commercialisation of