Three Students Combat Gender Inequalities in Riverdale Sports
Palmer, Starck, and Neugarten lead initiatives promoting gender parity in sports.
Lucia Zambetti/Riverdale Review
Sports are notorious for their long history of gender inequality: female athletes often receive less attention, less pay, and fewer sponsorships than their male counterparts. At the forefront of trying to find a solution to gender inequality amongst Riverdale sports teams are three juniors: Riley Palmer, Julia Starck, and Jordyn Neugarten.
The Women in Sports club, led by Riley Palmer and Julia Starck, highlights the achievements of Riverdale female athletes and also provides space for them to share stories about the sexism they have encountered at Riverdale within sports. When asked about what inspired her to start this activity, Palmer explained, “I have been a Riverdale athlete for three years now, so I knew that more people attended the varsity games. I expected our games to have a huge turnout and to have a lot of support from the community, but I noticed that there was a huge discrepancy in how the boys’ and girls’ sports teams were valued. That really frustrated me. My teammates and I felt really undervalued as athletes in the Riverdale community and felt like it was our responsibility to promote and prove ourselves as athletes. So I wanted to make a space where we felt heard.” In March, the club put together a highlights reel of Riverdale female athletes succeeding in their sports, which can be found on the Riverdale Review website.
Jordyn Neugarten has also worked to ensure that Riverdale offers equal athletic experiences to all athletes. When she was in ninth grade, Neugarten started a purpose project in which she interviewed student-athletes to gauge their feelings about their experiences in Riverdale sports. She shared students’ responses with the Athletics Department and collaborated with them to ensure that female athletes do not feel ignored or forgotten. Recently, she has started a discussion group with multiple female athletes, where they discuss possible improvements to the RCS Athletics program with the hopes of making it a more inclusive and comfortable environment for female athletes. Neugarten says that her initiative is currently “working with the DEIB [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging] office, [Athletic Director] Mr. John Pizzi, and [Director of Athletic Training and Safety] Ms. Katie Gendron to work towards gender equality in sports and spreading awareness and education.”
Ultimately, Riverdale is merely a microcosm for gender inequalities in sports. Recently, at the NCAA March Madness tournament, it was revealed that the women’s teams did not have adequate training facilities, while the male players received state-of-the-art equipment. The NCAA later alleged that there was not enough space to provide the women’s teams with sufficient equipment, but this claim was quickly refuted. Additionally, there were noticeable differences in the meals and swag bags that male and female players received, as well as the media coverage of both tournaments.
When asked about how her work could affect the larger sports community, Neugarten described that “even though we’re a high school group, what we are doing and what we plan to do is important [as it] can help the Riverdale community become more aware about [gender inequality].” Palmer explained that working towards gender equality in the sports world “really starts with people at the top making decisions that benefit women. There also needs to be more of an effort from the media to cover women’s sports, so people know who these athletes are.”
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
NCAA women’s basketball teams faced disparities in equipment, food, and swag bags compared to the men’s teams at the March Madness tournament.
Despite the significant efforts these students have made to mitigate gender disparities in Riverdale sports, there is still much more to be done, raising the question of what students can do to help. “The first thing is obviously to educate yourself,” said Neugarten. “You cannot go in and join a project or fight for something when you do not know what you are fighting for. Supporting our female athletes by attending the girls’ games is also really beneficial. The first step in any movement is to create awareness, so do not stay silent when you happen to witness gender inequality in action.”
Yoga instructor and Strength and Conditioning Coach Roberta MacIvor added that “this issue is much more than boys and girls getting the same treatment in sports. It is also about making spaces within the Athletics Department and in sports teams—[spaces] where women believe they are heard. That means that people need to be educated on these issues and that men who normally dominate these spaces need to make sure they are working to be inclusive.”
As Coach MacIvor emphasized, the support of allies is crucial to raising awareness about gender inequality in sports and mitigating this issue, both in Riverdale and in the sports world at large.
