In the last decade, several gender equality (GE) initiatives have taken root in sports to address gender discrimination that exists among female athletes. However, GE in sport remains a challenge for several reasons, most notably the lack of public awareness about it. Fortunately, social movements such as the #MeToo and #SeAcabo have brought awareness about this issue to the forefront of the public debate.
Nevertheless, there is much more to do, particularly in the area of equal opportunities for male and female athletes, where attitudes are largely determined by culture, values, and beliefs. To this end, the present article uses data from the Special Eurobarometer 525 (2022) to explore Europeans’ attitudes towards GE in sport and identify key determinants using Fuzzy-Hybrid TOPSIS, latent profile analysis and multinomial logistic regression.
The initial research reveals that a direct relationship exists between the level of sports participation and support for GE in sport. Those who play more sports tend to be more supportive of gender equality in sport, suggesting that more exposure to sporting environments helps people understand and recognise the need for it.
Furthermore, the results show remarkable geographical differences in attitudes to GE in sport. The Nordic countries, led by Sweden and Finland, have high levels of support for GE in sport. By contrast, Austria and Eastern European countries have low levels of support for GE in sport. This can be explained, in part, by a combination of very strong traditional gender norms, religious conservatism and older socio-political structures.