Each week the AIT community receives #TakeActionTuesday with tips for creating impactful change in their community and beyond. From new online tools, to pending policy updates, subscribe today to make sure you don’t miss these action-oriented recommendations.
Tennis champion Serena Williams’ controversial penalization at the U.S. Open has reignited a national conversation around the sexism that remains pervasive in sports, particularly for female athletes of color. In 2018, female athletes still face harmful double standards that manifest in many ways including intolerance, gendered dress code restrictions, and staggering pay gaps. In fact, no female athlete is included in the 2018 list of the world’s top 100 highest paid athletes.
This #TakeActionTuesday, speak out against sexism in sports and advocate for the equal treatment of female athletes.
Here are a few tips for calling out sexism in sports, as an advocate or an athlete:
- Think Global, Act Local. Sexism in sports exists at all levels. Begin your advocacy at a local level in your school district, university or alma mater, or local profession team by raising your voice on sexist rules or the disparities between the opportunities given to male and female athletes wherever they exist.
- Defend Title IX. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in education, including athletics. Title IX requires that men’s and women’s sports be equally available and funded, according to the proportion of male and female students. Find out if your alma mater or local educational institution is Title IX compliant, and ask athletics administrators how they plan to become or remain compliant. Find more information on how Title IX applies to athletics.
- Support Women Athletes. If you are donating to an educational institution, help to support young women athletes and earmark a portion of your donation for women’s athletic programs or scholarships.
Tell us how you are fighting sexism in sports at info@aitogether.org.
