improvements? Yes. Is everything okay? No way – athlete spokeswoman Karla Borger still sees women in professional sports as clearly disadvantaged.
Equal pay and media presence, pregnancies and menstrual cramps: On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Karla Borger does not mince her words in her analysis of the current situation in world sport when it comes to the urgent problems for women in professional sport. Yes the “Tanker has started to move”, says Germany’s spokeswoman for athletes over the past five years. And yet, she emphasizes, women continue to be compared to men “principally disadvantaged”.
It’s not only about money, but also about it. Borrower sees “No reason why women should be paid less premiums than men”. The beach volleyball player agrees with soccer captain Alexandra Popp, who still sees a wide pay gap. But she is “I firmly believe that sooner or later this will be completely adjusted”. Borger finds it “It’s shocking that we’re only now talking about it and thinking about it.” Most recently, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, among others, called for steps to be taken against the gender pay gap.
Strikes cannot be ruled out as a last resort
Borger, who distinguishes between performance-related bonuses from the association and salary from the club and advertising revenue on the subject of money, names biathlon and beach volleyball as positive examples, since the prize money there “always been the same”. For other areas, she doesn’t rule out a strike as a last resort in the dispute over equal pay. “I’m more of a friend of clarifying things differently,” says Borrower: “But if there is no other way and if you don’t listen, then that would be a measure for an escalation, if you don’t get any further. I could understand it.”
Breaking the taboo on menstrual pain
Borrower wishes “even more initiatives for social change” and “even more media formats to draw attention to the many topics”. Topics such as the impairments for women caused by menstrual pain in training and competition. Ski jumper Anna Rupprecht, who recently spoke publicly about it after winning the team gold medal at the Ski World Championships and called for the taboo to be broken, must not remain alone. “In Spain there is a certain number of vacation days for period pains”emphasizes Borger, “In Germany we are still a long way from that”. The number of women with problems is “much higher than we think”.
Borger reports frightening things when it comes to taking the pill. Female athletes would take birth control pills “You can also take it without consulting your doctor so that you don’t bleed during the competition. The menstruation then stops because of overexertion, that’s a huge issue.” De-tabooing the topic is important so that “Young girls also see: ‘I’m not alone in this, it’s completely normal that the hormone balance in the body also plays a role in sport.'”
Compatibility of sport and family planning
Pregnancy in professional sports also remains a major (problem) issue. In view of the unanswered questions (“What about the squad positions? Do you still get support? Or are you just out?”), the compatibility of sport and family planning continues to be a challenge that is almost impossible to solve. The federal squad status is currently based “often based on personal choices of coaches and sports directors”, Borger explains: “Many associations have little money and therefore the pressure to win medals. Funds for financial support for pregnant women would be an option.” For example, several mothers could join forces at a federal base to take care of the children.