The drive towards gender equality has gained momentum in sports in recent years, bolstered by progressive initiatives led by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and others. However, significant challenges remain on and off the field of play, from equal pay to access, discrimination and violence. As such, the sport sector has an important role to play in advancing gender equality, and needs to address the root causes of inequality.
The passage of Title IX in 1972 was perhaps the single most transformational moment for women in sports, allowing them to overcome the barriers of sex discrimination in education programs and federally funded athletic activities. However, despite Title IX and other legal protections, misogyny and discrimination still persists in many sports, including at the professional level. In addition, a lack of support and funding hinders the establishment of women’s professional leagues and the overall growth of the industry.
While awareness campaigns such as #MeToo and the #BalanceforBetter have raised public consciousness of the issue, it is necessary to establish concrete policies in order to change attitudes and improve the environment for gender equality in sports. Greater investment in gender-equitable sports, along with balanced media coverage and mechanisms for reporting discrimination and harassment, can help reduce existing inequalities.
This article identifies the main drivers of Europeans’ attitudes toward gender equality in sports using data from the Special Eurobarometer 525 (2022). It uses Fuzzy-Hybrid TOPSIS to provide a synthetic indicator of Europeans’ attitudes, then employs Latent Profile Analysis and Multinomial Logistic Regression to identify the key determinants.