Women’s Soccer is Ranked as Equally High as Men’s Soccer

Despite the booming success of women’s soccer, with record-breaking fan interest, attendance, and revenue, it continues to fall behind men’s soccer in various aspects. Whether we examine media coverage, financial investments, or overall revenue generation, men’s soccer still outperforms women’s soccer. The reasons behind this disparity raise important questions.

Are Gender Stereotypes Influencing the Belief in Superiority of Men’s Sports?

Carlos Gomez, a researcher at the Department of Business Administration and the study’s author, points out that a common belief exists where people assume men’s sports are superior to women’s sports due to men generally being taller, stronger, and faster. However, he raises a thought-provoking question: Could this perception of quality be influenced by gender stereotypes?

In sports, including male-dominated fields, female athletes face close scrutiny of their skills, regularly encountering criticism about their talent and toughness. While sexist remarks that denigrate women’s sports as boring, slow, and unattractive have become less prevalent, they still persist.

Impacts of Negative Stereotypes, Media Coverage, and Financial Investment on Perception of Women’s Sports

These negative stereotypes, along with inadequate media coverage and lower financial investment, can create a perception that women’s sports are inferior to men’s sports, impacting how we assess the athletes’ performances.

In an experiment conducted by researchers at UZH, they sought to investigate whether people would assess the quality of women’s and men’s soccer differently if the gender of the players was not identifiable. The study included 613 participants who were shown videos of professional women’s and men’s soccer players, including well-known figures like Alex Morgan and Luka Modrić.

Assessing Player Performance with Gender Obscured and Unchanged Videos

In one group, the players’ gender was intentionally obscured, making it impossible for viewers to discern whether they were watching men or women. In the control group, the videos were unchanged, allowing participants to see the gender of the players. After viewing five videos of male and female players each, the participants rated the players’ performance using a five-point scale.

The results indicated that videos featuring male players received significantly higher ratings only when the participants knew the gender of the players. However, when the gender was blurred, and the players’ identities were not distinguishable, there was no significant difference in ratings between men’s and women’s videos.

Carlos Gomez, the lead researcher, draws the conclusion that these findings challenge the assumption that the lower demand for women’s professional soccer is solely attributed to the quality of female players’ performances. Instead, it suggests that women’s soccer, along with potentially other women’s team sports, has not yet fully realized its economic potential. As excitement for events such as the Women’s World Cup continues to grow, this study provides valuable insights into discussions about the perceived quality of women’s soccer.

Read the original article on: Phys Org

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