“The United States believes gender equality is critical to our shared goals of prosperity, stability, and peace, and …investing in women and girls worldwide is critical to advancing U.S. foreign policy”

-Secretary Of State John Kerry

Throughout the world, women encounter issues when trying to get involved in a sport that is not “normal” or fitting of gender stereotypes. This is a daily struggle for women of all ages. Although efforts are being made to insure gender equality in sports, several feel there is still a lot of work to do.

No matter how fast they run, how hard they work or what they achieve, females continue being compared to male competitors. This type of pressure can damage a women’s self-esteem. A study from “The Women’s Sports Foundation” report that more female athletes who play competitive sports have a lower self-esteem than males. They also state that sports alone do not lower self-esteem but the type of sport and the gender orientation of the sport are contributing factors.

“Girls hear it so often,” Cindy Hernandez said. “They’re told they can’t do things because of their gender, and I think it makes girls start to lose confidence.”

Sport’s scholarships are hard to earn, especially for female athletes. According to “The Women’s Sports Foundation”, male athletes get $179 million dollars more in scholarship money than females. They also concluded that females only receive 193,000 opportunities at NCAA Institutions while males get 256,000. Also. “Female college athletes receive $183 million less in NCAA athletic scholarships”, leaving $965 million for the female athletes and $1.15 billion for males.

Laws and specifications have been created to support and insure the rights of female athletes in the United States. The Title IX Act of 1972 states “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” Despite the efforts to insure gender equality, women are not yet seen as equals. Many women, including Hernandez, are hoping for a change in this industry and cooperation from both males and females.

“I believe both genders should be treated the same,” she said. “Both males and females love their sport and train hard to become the best they can be.”