Gender and Sports Practice Are Related to the Perception of the Olympic Movement and Gender Equity in Sport

Abstract

Background:  The Olympic movement (OM) aims to preserve and promote the philosophy of Olympism and development of society through culture and sport, being gender equity in sport one of the main tasks of the OM since the late twentieth century. Objectives:  Analyze the relationship between the levels of knowledge and perception about the OM on attitudes towards women's participation in sport in students of physical education and sport sciences. Methods:  Cross-sectional research with correlational-descriptive scope was developed in which 35 subjects (17.1% female and 82.9% male; 21.1 ± 4.1 years) were part of the study. The Questionnaire on the Vision of Olympism and its Educational Repercussions and the Scale of Attitudes towards Women's Participation in Sport were applied. Comparison analyses were performed between sex, sports practice, and level of sports practice, as well as the relationship between the variables through nonparametric statistics considering a value of P < 0.05 as statistical significance. Results:  The level of knowledge about Olympism was 6.14 (± 2.5). Significant differences were observed in attitudes towards women's participation in sport according to gender, sport practice and level of practice. In addition, it should be noted that gender equity, social support, and access for women in sport are not perceived at high levels. Finally, no significant relationships were found between the factors of both questionnaires. Conclusions:  The students participating in the study present low levels of knowledge about Olympism; furthermore, they show differences in attitudes towards women's participation in sport according to gender and level of sport practice, evidencing the positive impact of sport practice and immersion in academic aspects related to sport for the improvement of the gender equity perspective within sport.