While the gender gap in sports is closing, there’s still a lot of work to be done. It will take men and women working together to stamp out misogyny and sexism in sports. It will also require the support of those in the sports industry and the media. It is important to promote women in sports, as well as encourage those that are already involved to continue their journey. It is also necessary to change the societal perception that males are superior athletes. This can be done by encouraging more coed sports teams and increasing funding for women’s sporting organizations.
Using data from the Special Eurobarometer 525 (2022), this article uses Fuzzy-Hybrid TOPSIS to provide a synthetic indicator of Europeans’ attitudes towards gender equality in sport (ATGEQS). Latent profile analysis and multinomial logistic regression are used to identify key socio-economic factors that shape these attitudes.
The findings show large regional differences in ATGEQS. High scores are observed in Scandinavia, a region that is associated with progressive welfare policies and strong female representation in leadership positions. In contrast, countries like Austria and Romania display low ATGEQS scores. These results are consistent with previous research that links resistance to gender equality in sport to conservative religiosity and older socio-political structures. In addition, the economic upheavals that accompanied post-communist transition deprioritised social reforms. These findings offer new insights into the complexity of Europeans’ attitudes towards GE in sport. They contribute to a deeper understanding of the role that gender equity in sport will play in Europe’s future.