Catriona LeMay Doan, Chantal Benoit, Cassie Campbell, Silken Laumann and their teammates have delivered a powerful message about the mental and physical toughness of female athletes. Manufacturers are now offering cycling seats, climbing harnesses, boxing chest protectors, baseball gloves, hockey skates, and pole vaults designed to fit women. The number of Olympic events for women is on the rise. The WNBA offers a refreshing alternative to male professional sport. While we can be proud of our progress, we are far from the finish line, and to get there, much remains to be done.
Stubborn inequities persist.
Traditions die hard and men continue to get better playing facilities, preferred practice and playing times, more coverage in the media, and bigger prize money. Girls' locker rooms are inevitably smaller. Women coaches are comparatively few in number, and Canada has lost some of our finest in the past year. While there are more women in the locker rooms, they remain in the minority in the board rooms. Too many girls who are keen to participate are turned off by their experiences in sport .