Men and women in equal parts at the Olympic Games: a historical milestone and a sign of change

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Erfahren Sie in diesem Artikel, wie Frauen im Sport in Deutschland wahrgenommen werden und ob sie endlich die gleiche Aufmerksamkeit wie ihre männlichen Kollegen erhalten. Zudem werden die Ergebnisse einer aktuellen Umfrage des Zahlungsdienstleisters Klarna präsentiert. Lassen Sie uns zusammen einen Blick auf die Entwicklung und das Potenzial für die Zukunft werfen.
In this article, find out how women are perceived in sports in Germany and whether they finally get the same attention as their male colleagues. In addition, the results of a current survey by the payment service provider Klarna are presented. Let us take a look at the development and the potential for the future. (Symbolbild/MB)

on the way to equality / can Olympia 2024 further increase the visibility of female athletes?

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris mark a historical milestone for equality in sport. For the first time, the games compete as many women as men. But does that also mean that female athletes finally get the same attention as their male colleagues?

The results of a current survey by the payment service provider Klarna throw light on the perception of women in German sport. The results were published in the Sports & Travel Report*.

Historically, women were underrepresented for a long time at the Olympic Games. It was only in 1988 that the proportion of women increased to over a quarter of the participants. But only now, 36 years later, are men and women represented in equal parts for the first time .¹

Although equality in sport is slowly developing, there is still a certain discrepancy among fans. According to the survey, 52 % of German female athletes are watching TV and online. On the other hand, 60 % of purely male sporting events. The gap in male fans is particularly striking: 55 % of German men are interested in athletes, while athletes are 71 %. This continues to dominate the relevance of men in sport. Nevertheless, women seem to catch up.

Furthermore, there are also positive developments. Almost half of the Germans perceive an increasing visibility of women in sport. Accordingly, athletes and sports competitions have received more attention in the past five years.

In other countries, there is already greater progress in terms of equality in sport. In Australia, for example, women's football is more popular than men's football. And in the United States, too, women in football are significantly more successful than the men. ² in this country there is still potential for further growth.

According to the survey, 18 % of the Germans surveyed are convinced that the popularity of male and female professional athletes will adapt in the future. Men and women share this view alike. 25 % of the respondents are even of the opinion that athletes and women's sports events are already just as popular as male athletes and events. However, there are also skeptics, of whom 27 % believe that athletes and pure women's sports events are less popular than their male counterparts and the status of men's sports will never reach.

The 2024 Olympic Games can be a crucial catalyst to further increase the visibility and acceptance of women in sport. With the growing interest and the increasing media presence, a positive development can be hoped that leaves women out of the shadow of their male colleagues in sports. It remains exciting to observe how this dynamic will develop in the coming years.

* The Klarna Sports & Travel Report analyzes the shopping behavior of consumers in various areas worldwide. The study was carried out in April 2024 in cooperation with the market research institute Dynata.

¹ Source: Statista 2024.

² Sports Sociologist Christiana Schallhorn in an interview with ZDFheute, 2023.

Article stand: May 23, 2024