Football: Discrimination against women!
By Dr Lucien Valloni, VALLONI Attorneys at Law, Zurich, Switzerland
Discrimination against women in football is widespread and, on the increase, despite several ongoing campaigns and initiatives aimed at reducing it (see below).
The key issues include sexual harassment; lack of senior leadership roles; the gender pay gap; and online abuse.
Although there has been some progress, there appears to be some unconscious bias in the game and male dominance continues to be a major barrier to achieving equality.
Here are some disturbing statistics:
89% of women involved in football, as well as women fans of the men’s game, are experiencing sexism, bullying, or harassment.
47% of women have experienced sexism in the workplace, and 62% have reported sexist ‘banter’.
93% of women have reported that they have faced obstacles in their careers in football, especially as members of football club boards, managers, coaches and referees, due to their gender.
91.9% of women have witnessed sexist abuse online.
Most disturbing of all, 56% of women have complained that no action has been taken by the football authorities after reporting cases of gender-based discrimination.
Furthermore, discrimination in the form of sexual harassment and online abuse disproportionately affects women from underrepresented ethnic groups.
Furthermore, female athletes, including women footballers, continue to receive less media attention and coverage and are often subjected to sexualised stereotypes and objectification in such coverage.
Against this background, there are a number of campaigns and initiatives that are being taken to tackle discrimination against women in football, and mention may be made of the following:
- Her Game Too: a campaign group that fights against sexism and champions women in sport.
- Women in Football: an organisation that is working to empower women in the industry through training, mentorship, and reporting mechanisms.
- Kick It Out: a campaign that acts against sexism and racist abuse, providing platforms for reporting and educating fans.
- Social Media Policing: proactive action is being taken to remove hateful content on social media sites, such as X (Twitter) and Facebook.
- Common Goal's Play Proud: provides over 100 hours of training to clubs to create safe and inclusive environments for the LGBTQ+ community.
FIFA is working towards equal pay for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. Such inequality results from historical lack of investment in the women’s game; lower broadcasting revenues; and less sponsorship interest compared with the men's game.
UEFA has launched a FootbALL programme, with the aim of highlighting the power of and the importance of diversity and inclusion in European football which can drive positive change across European communities.
