Celebrating Women’s Sports: How Far We’ve Come

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of women in all fields—including sports. Sports, just like many other vectors, have historically been male-dominated. In recent years, we’ve seen women not just becoming more actively involved, but excelling in sports. One of the biggest milestones in 2024 was the rise in popularity of women’s college basketball, with basketball becoming the most watched women’s sport in the US. The 2024 NCAA championship attracted more viewers than the mens’ game for the first time, showing us just how far women’s sports have come.

The year 2024 also brought remarkable achievements from women athletes across various sports:

Iga Świątek, for example, won her fourth French Open championship, and her third one consecutively. In basketball, A’ja Wilson was unanimously named the 2024 Kia WNBA MVP and set a new WNBA record by scoring 1,021 points in a single season, averaging 26.9 points per game. And then there’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who set a new world record for the women’s 400 meter hurdle: an impressive 50.37 seconds. Meanwhile in soccer, Alex Morgan announced her retirement after a remarkable 15-year career during which she won two FIFA women’s world cups and an Olympic gold medal.

Of course, progress in women’s sports isn’t just happening on the court or the field. More women than ever before are taking up jobs in coaching, executive and front-office roles in professional sports. Becky Hammon, a former WNBA star, continues to guide women athletes through coaching. Female sports executives, such as Jessica Berman and __, are making key decisions that shape the future of athletics.

Even with all these accomplishments, there’s still work to be done to ensure full equality in sports. Pay disparities between female and male athletes remain a major issue. While the US Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) secured equal pay in the 2022 equal pay agreement, many female athletes still earn comparatively less than their male counterparts. For example, the highest-paid WNBA players have a salary of about $250,000 while the average NBA player makes over $10 million! Media coverage also remains unbalanced: despite its steadily increasing popularity, women’s sports still only receive 15% of media coverage. Increasing investment, viewership and sponsorship will be necessary to cover this gap. As we celebrate Women’s History Month and look back on the achievements of the past year, it is clear that there is still room for improvement. It is up to us to push forward the future of women’s sports.