From the adaptation of rules, to transgender athletes, all the way to their performance and profit, women have had a massive target on their backs. From fans, reporters, and even other athletes, wanting them to grow and succeed beyond these issues that follow them. However, does this have to be the case? Why are some of these things happening, and do they really help or hurt women in sports today?
The whistle blew just as the thirteenth minute struck. On July 19, 2025, in the UEFA European Championship, German defender Kathrin Hedrich was given a direct red card. Just a few moments before, France was given an opportunity for a free-kick. During this, the French and German players were lined up against one another, ready to battle for the ball, especially France, hoping to land it in the back of the net.
Once the ball was kicked, Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s head connected with the ball, sending it out of bounds. However, the controversial moment sparks just behind Katoto, when Kathrin Hedrich began to pull defender Griedge Mbock’s hair, preventing her from continuing her gameplay.
Seconds after, referee Tess Olofsson blew her whistle and assessed this gameplay, summing her decision with a red car and awarded a penalty to the French national team. Many commented on this moment, saying that it represented a visible weakness of women’s gameplay, stating that men don’t receive as much punishment as women do in their game.
However, the real reason for this is because men’s and women’s sports are blatantly different.
Various sources have provided many examples where rules in women’s sports differ from men’s sports, making it better for both genders. Some equipment for women is better suited for their use, such as the use of a smaller basketball; which David O’Connor, CEO of Sportssio, states that this adaption “allows for better control, dribbling, and shooting for female players.” Another piece of equipment women utilize are female-designed soccer cleats, shoes that can help prevent ACL injuries. This adjustment to cleats is vital to female soccer players as, according to a study done by Yale Medicine, “an ACL tear is one acute injury that female athletes are two to eight times more likely to experience than males.” This evidence has led many name-brand companies, such as Nike, to develop cleats specifically designed for women to help protect them from these struggles.
New bike designs for females have also been seen to help women perform and feel more comfortable when cycling, with the adaptation of their bikes to take into account women’s body ratio. Whether it’s equipment or specifically designated rules in women’s or men’s sport; they are put in place to help, not hinder. Although to some it may be seen as an advantage to one gender over the other, it’s actually designed to keep women and men safe in their respective sports; protecting and amplifying their gameplay to fit what their physical ability allows them to do.
You may have heard of Lia Thomas, an American swimmer, or Laurel Hubbard, a New Zealand weightlifter, and many other transgender-athletes that have competed in the women’s category in their respective sports. This brought major controversy about if trans athletes should be allowed to compete where they want to. According to the National Institute of Health, “Biological sex is a primary determinant of athletic performance because of fundamental sex differences in anatomy and physiology dictated by sex chromosomes and sex hormones. Adult men are typically stronger, more powerful, and faster than women of similar age and training status.” Although not in every case, many studies have been shown to prove that men and women have differences in their physical composition, which have affected their performance in competing in sports. The difference in sex chromosomes and sex hormones have typically given men an advantage in their gameplay, hence the reason for divided sports based on gender. However, women continue to see transgender women entering their category, allowing them the ability to compete against them. To compete in women’s sports, transgender athletes are required to take gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) which is supposed to reduce male testosterone and allow them to play on the same level as cis women*.
However, a professional medical physicist at Loughborough University in the UK reports that “trans women as a population group are [still] taller, bigger, and in an absolute sense stronger than cis women.” Additionally, Trans Health Research Australia, has stated that GHAT lowers testosterone, however, has also declared that this therapy doesn’t change a transgender person’s bone structure, which cannot be changed after puberty. Moreover, some examples of a male’s bone structure benefitting their performance includes their narrow pelvis which allows for a more efficient leg drive, their higher bone density and larger bones which can provide more help in contact and power-driven sports, and their typically longer limbs which can also benefit them with longer strides.
In order to accommodate these differences, organizations like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and International Olympic Committee (IOC) have both made adaptations to their rules of transgender athletes competing in women’s category. On February 6, 2025, the NCAA changed their policies to allow all transgender athletes to have the ability to compete in male sports whether they are transgender men or women. Additionally, the IOC president, Kirsty Coventry stated in her first news conference that it has become “very clear [to]…the members that we have to protect the female category, first and foremost to ensure fairness.”
The New York Times also states that “the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is moving towards a complete ban on transgender women in female events following a review of the evidence on the long-term physical advantages of being born male.” Therefore, these modifications of rules demonstrate the value these associations are putting into protecting women in sports physically but also competitively, allowing women to continue to grow within their sports, but also feel safe.
The performance and profit of women in sports is maybe their most criticized aspect, as what they generate and how they play is typically compared to their male counterparts. However, women have been beating records and exceeding standards in their category, showing a great improvement of what they once were. An analysis done by McKinsey & Company has shown “that between 2022 and 2024, revenue from women’s sports grew 4.5 times faster than that of men’s sports.” This exponential growth not only highlights women’s improvement, but how they are now highlights a greater revenue than men’s sports.
ESPN wrote in a Report: 2025 Women’s Sports Revenue Projected To Hit 2.35B that “according to a new report from Deloitte, a financial services and consulting firm, women’s sports are projected to earn $2.35 billion globally in 2025, a 25% increase over a record $1.88 billion produced last year.” Not only has the profit of women directly been growing, but their “viewership and engagement are surging across major events like the Women’s World Cup and WNBA, with sponsorships growing 50% faster than men’s leagues. Meanwhile, brands are seeing strong returns” (World Economic Forum).
Women are finally getting the recognition they deserve through their groundbreaking soundwaves throughout sports. While still experiencing major setbacks, they’ve been able to give it their all to meet these new standards. Not only are women raising the bar and expectations of them through their profit and performance, but they are finally starting to gain the ability to have fair competition, all in hopes to create a fully-female empowered organization.
*cis women – Females that have remained a women since birth
