Hardin-October10

           It's pretty difficult being a woman in a man's world. What could be harder? Being a woman vying for a sport's career in a man's field.

           Many of the articles we have touched upon this semester have observed the lack of women in the sport's field, but none have gone as in depth as Marie Hardin. Hardin is a woman fighting for her spot in a man's career.

            With all minor concerns as to why females cannot handle the job set aside, one enormous problem halts career paths almost instantly: women cannot be taken seriously. They cannot. It is a sad fault that women cannot control, but women will always be put at a different standard. Hardin's reasoning for this? Women are often sexualized. Hardin stated there have been reports where females felt sexually harassed and have seen sexual behavior acted in front of them. While many women find this difficult to work with, one woman polled stated it made her more dedicated to the job by trying to overcome it.

             They constantly face discrimination in the workplace and have noticed few women who work along side of them. With women not being taken seriously or in danger of not being respected, employers would find it limiting to hire them. It was also admitted in a poll that some places felt obligated to hire women as a sign of being fair. But, it will never be fair because women will never be on the same level of respect and desire in the sports world.

               It is not that females cannot do just as good as job as males; simply, males just represent the crowd so well. Most of the sports enjoyed by fans are male dominated sports and really only males have participated in them. While Hardin does not touch on this, I have always found it more difficult to understand the ability of mostly male only sports (like football) because I have never spent time playing that game.                Experience is necessary and without it, the job becomes that much more difficult.

                Experience was important, but to the women that were polled, remembering the passion for sports became the key in becoming successful. There was one woman who really would like to start a family, but knew she could not for fear of losing her sport's position. Men do not need to take off for pregancy or childcare. Finding a sitter is usually not a problem for the husbands because they figured the wife can take care of them. Women are forced to take on the “second shift” (aka taking care of the house after a woman has spent all day at work). Women feel pressured to stay away from the family and relationship lifestyle in trouble of losing their power in a male's career. Being a minority in this career, women may not be able to come back to their job if they decide to take a break. This domestic concerns are much more pressing on females since they do the majority of the second shift.

               Besides the crude behavior, lack of seriousness, and the drive for family, women still face one last barrier. “Glass ceilings” have been setting apart males and females for decades in the workplace. In their minds, they will never be able to reach the standards of males. Women have to accept that although sport's news may not be ready for the changes that come ahead, women must not let these barriers in their minds. Women are being held back; however, they can only hold themselves back by believing all of these concerns. It is never going to be easy, but as one woman said it, “You do love it.”