Editorial

When we did an article on the low percentage of female students in STEM a couple of years ago, a line from the article left its mark on me. The writer cited research that said female students often lag behind in mathematics and physics because of a lack of spatial awareness, which roots from their lack of involvement in physical and sporting activities in childhood.

Society often doesn't approve, schools balk at providing the same opportunities for their female students as they do for their male ones. What becomes infuriating is when sports administration bodies, whose entire existence is tied to furthering the spread of their respective games, don't do enough. Tournaments don't take place at a desired frequency, facilities are often not up to par for female athletes, and most importantly, a huge pay gap exists between genders when it comes to sports.

Many point to a lack of commercial involvement in women's sports as a reason behind this pay gap, but they forget that ensuring commercial involvement is why sporting administration bodies exist. Passing off their failure in this regard as a vague case of financial natural selection is not fooling anybody.