Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The report, which was written ahead of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and follows up on a 2014 study, shows that while the number of women in Olympic sports is growing steadily, female representation on elite Olympic governing bodies is static – at below 30%. This might be another reason for the persistently wide gender pay gap in sports.
Professional sports leagues are analogous to entertainment companies, where each team in a league is like a different channel. The teams have their own identities, employees and fan bases, but the overall ‘programming schedule’ (the rules of the game and the fixture list) are set by the leagues.
In a case that has implications for the sports world, the US Women Soccer Players Association has recently won a settlement on discrimination and unequal pay. There is a long way to go before equal pay in sports, a sector in which the gender pay gap has been growing year-on-year.
I have personally witnessed the power of sport to unite people through the professional tennis team I own, the Washington Kastles, of the World TeamTennis league. The team was cited by the mayor of Washington, DC as the community’s greatest melting pot, one that uniquely brings together people from all backgrounds and parts of our region.
Global sports stars are winning battles for equality and respect on and off the field. Today’s activist athletes are using their success as a platform to push for social change. Sports governing bodies have an important role to play in supporting free expression and inclusivity.
Business models in esports closely follow professional sports – though competitions are far more fragmented – with the majority of revenue coming from advertising and broadcasting. Although relatively small in comparison with the overall gaming market, esports is relevant here because it appears connected to the continued growth of gaming.
The IOC and the Global Association of International Sports Federations are jointly hosting an eSports Forum at the Olympic Museum in France. “The aim of the Forum is to explore synergies, build joint understanding and set a platform for future engagement between the eSports and gaming industries and the Olympic Movement,” they say.
Competitive video gaming – also known as esports, or electronic sports – is finding its way into educational systems. Advocates say it can teach skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication, problem-solving and strategic thinking. It is also helping to get school refusers back into the classroom in Japan.
Think of Jackie Robinson’s example of integrating professional baseball, or Billie Jean King pushing for gender equality in tennis. Think of Muhammed Ali’s refusal to fight in the Vietnam War, which inspired the Black Power salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
The sports community is in a period of enormous transformation and that’s where global business leaders come in. We can congregate and counsel teams, athletes and civil society organizations with a vision for the inspiring, world-changing power of sports —because we know what it means to lead through moments of tremendous change.