Gendering the Coronavirus Pandemic: Toward a Framework of Interdependence for Sport

Abstract

A growing body of research suggests that economic crises tend to exacerbate existing gender inequalities, particularly in the realms of paid work and political representation. Translating this to the case of sport, how and why might the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic be felt unevenly by professional female athletes and women leaders? In this essay, the authors reflect on the classic feminist critique of the gendered construction of dependence and consider how its application in the context of sport might aid scholars in making sense of (a) the persistence of gendered precarity and inequality in sport, (b) the prospect of their exacerbation under conditions of a pandemic, and (c) how the current crisis might enable sport to move toward a model of interdependence in which its vastly unequal structures are changed for the better.

A losing battle? Women’s sport pre- and post-COVID-19

“…In the discourse around the future of women's sport more broadly, financial troubles appeared to be one of the biggest long-term worries, a concern that impacts all women involved in elite competitive sport, irrespective of their employment status. Sportswomen have acknowledged that there are limited funding opportunities for them, compared to sportsmen, and believe that they are treated as second-class citizens (Mogaji et al, 2020), or framed as dependent upon men's sport (Pape & McLachlan, 2020), and this notion was evident in the participant's responses here. The impact of economic inequalities for sportswomen -and women's sport -exaggerated during COVID-19, is constitutive of wider societal issues surrounding the gender pay gap, with many noting that gender inequalities increased in both paid and unpaid work during the pandemic (Collins et al, 2021;Farré et al, 2020;Power, 2020).…”

“…In qualitative questionnaire responses, the important data often lie in the detailed explanations (McGuirk & O'Neill, 2016), and as Rowley ( 2014) notes, the most common approach to interpreting these data is to work through each question, coding responses and identifying key themes. This was undertaken with a feminist framework in mind that, like Pape and McLachlan (2020), foregrounded women's experiences in sport as rooted in gender inequality where, especially in professional sport, they operate in a system that privileges men.…”

“…Just three days after the aforementioned final, the World Health Organisation declared a pandemic, prompting a shutdown of the majority of all competitive sport. The sports industry was hit hard, but there were concerns raised that the impact would exaggerate inequalities (Evans et al, 2020), and thus would be more strongly felt in women's sport (Clarkson et al, 2020;Pape & McLachlan, 2020). In response to these concerns, this research aimed to document elite sportswomen's perceptions of the state of women's sport pre-COVID-19 and the possible impact of COVID-19 on women's sport.…”

“…They outlined the complex history of women's involvement in football to illuminate 'very real threats to the progress of elite women's football', rooted in historical gender inequality (Clarkson et al, 2020, p. 2). Pape and McLachlan (2020) theorised how and why the impacts of the pandemic could be more significant for women in sport, using a framework of interdependence for sport. Here, they noted the persistence of gendered precarity and inequality in sport and the prospect of their exacerbation.…”

“…Here, they noted the persistence of gendered precarity and inequality in sport and the prospect of their exacerbation. Both papers proposed strategies for the long-term survival of women's sport, which centred on gender-equitable solutions, such as equal opportunities for the safe resumption of play (Pape & McLachlan, 2020), more equitable funding allocation and improvements in media coverage (Pape & McLachlan, 2020;Clarkson et al, 2020).…”