‘Equally Valued, Visible and Paid’
The UN human rights chief calls on countries to do more to dismantle gender-based barriers faced by women athletes.
As the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 soccer tournament enters its final week in Switzerland, the United Nations has issued a warning not to underestimate the extent to which women in sport still face barriers and discrimination.
“The playing field is still far from level,” Volker Türk, the UN human rights chief said in a statement, in which he called on member states and sports clubs around the world to address the vast gender gap which still exists in soccer and in other sports.
Türk, speaking in Geneva, cited figures from FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, showing that the average female player earns just $10,900 per year, with top-tier clubs paying an average of some $24,000.
Male professional football players, according to FIFA, earn an average salary of around $1.8 million in the top-tier clubs. “Without a stable income, women are forced to take other jobs, leaving them with less time and energy to focus on training and improving,” Türk said.
He also noted that women are significantly underrepresented in leadership of clubs, sports federations and governing bodies, and that maternity leave “is frequently overlooked in women’s sports, holding women athletes back and forcing them to take alternative employment.”
Emma Haslett
“Collectively, we need to dismantle the barriers and patriarchal attitudes that are limiting women’s progress in sport,” Türk said, adding that “instead, we need to build up a world of sport in which women and girls, in all their diversity, are equally valued, visible and paid.”
Finally, Türk also called on UN member states to do more to prevent violence and harassment in sport and ensure that cases are investigated, and perpetrators brought to justice.
“Sport can drive social change, which is much needed in today’s polarised world, and it can inspire and promote fairness, respect, and equal opportunities for all,” he concluded. “Together, let's champion a sporting world where women and girls can thrive.”
