It’s a common observation- sports culture is dominated by men. While the number of females in the sports industry seems to be growing, it is clear that females in the industry are not getting the respect they deserve.

Perhaps the most glaring incident is the controversy in the 2015 the FIFA Women’s World Cup regarding artificial turf. This past summer, the women’s world cup was held in Canada for the first time in FIFA history. With the new location, came a new playing surface.

The tournament was held on artificial turf fields, a surface that is commonly referred to by many athletes as “a surface widely recognized as inferior in international soccer.” According to Fox Sports, the Women’s National team sent a letter with this wording to the International Football Association, threatening a gender discrimination lawsuit.

Even after legal actions were taken, the female teams were still required to play on these artificial fields. While it must be taken into consideration that grass in Canada often times does not recover from the harsh winters until July or August, this is still a prominent issue.

“The game plays differently on artificial surface, not only because of fear of injury but because it’s a different surface.” Abby Wambach said in an interview with Sports Illustrated in April. Wambach is a star forward for the US Womens’ National team. “You can also talk about it being a gender discrimination issue. Would they ever let the men’s World Cup be played on an artificial surface?
In light of this controversy, there is still one lingering question. Why was playing on turf fields ever a proposed idea, if turf is commonly referred to as “a surface that is widely regarded as inferior in international soccer.”

Wambach wasn’t the only player who felt that this was gender discrimination. Sydney Leroux, another star forward for the United States Women’s National team, also voiced her opinion. “I really feel it is an equality issue. Do you think the men in Brazil this summer would have said yes, we are fine playing on turf?” Leroux said, in an interview with ESPNW. “No way in hell that would happen with men. It’s really sad women have to be guinea pigs for this.”

The controversy between FIFA and players in the 2015 Women’s World Cup, is just one example of gender inequality. Another obvious issue, is the way women in the sports industry are portrayed.
When a reader visits Sports Illustrated’s website, there are headlines leading readers to articles about female models posing in swimsuits. In fact, there is an entire section entitled “Swim Daily” where these photos are posted daily.

There were only two current articles involving female not in swimsuits, posted on the Sports Illustrated website on Dec. 6 2015.

Only one article regarding female athletes was posted when so many female athletes have done incredible things recently- including the Penn State Women’s soccer team securing their first ever national victory in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships, which occurred on Dec. 6 2015 as well.

Many female athletes are doing incredible things that a majority of society will never hear about them, because the world of sports is highly dominated by men, and women in bikinis.

Females in the sports industry are strong and deserve to be treated equally.