The goal of gender equality in sports is to ensure equal opportunities for both men and women in the sporting arena. However, a number of challenges remain that hamper the pursuit of this goal, including inequitable pay for female athletes, limited investment into women’s sport, and the perception that men are more athletic than women. In addition, many women face barriers to participating in sports due to cultural and political constraints. This article aims to identify the main obstacles that hinder the promotion of gender equality in sports and highlight strategies to address them.
Despite the efforts of various stakeholders to promote the inclusion of women in sports, gender inequality remains prevalent in sports organizations and the broader society. This is mainly the result of a lack of awareness amongst the general public about the existence of gender discrimination, as well as persistent stereotypes and biases in the media. Furthermore, existing policies and guidelines to promote gender equality in sports are not achieving their intended results.
In the context of this debate, the current study aims to fill a quantitative gap in the literature by assessing Europeans’ attitudes towards gender equality (GE) in sports. It uses data from the Special Eurobarometer 525 (2022), which are analyzed using a Fuzzy-Hybrid TOPSIS method to produce a synthetic indicator of Europeans’ GE in sports, and by conducting latent profile analysis and multinomial logistic regression to identify determinants of this attitude. The results show that a significant portion of Europeans believe that there is GE in sports and that the problem is widespread.