Melinda Le

Gender Equity in High School Sports

As a Mike Yarrow Peace Fellow, I am eager to expand my knowledge of peace and justice issues while acquiring the skills to make a positive impact on my community

Melinda Le
HIgh School Student

Melinda Le attends high school in Olympia, Washington. 

Women’s sporting events consistently receive less attention, funding, and support than their male counterparts. Upon delving into the history of women’s sports within our high school, it becomes evident that inequities persist, echoing challenges observed even 30 years ago when our parents were a part of the school community. Repeatedly, male sports benefit from additional resources such as new uniforms, upgraded equipment, heavy event advertisements, and fan support, all while the women’s teams receive little to none.

In response to these disparities, I conceived a community awareness campaign to increase student participation, thereby cultivating a more substantial student presence at women’s sports events. Leading two other project managers, our goal is not limited to increasing student participation and attendance, but we also aspired to foster an environment of inclusivity and fun, ensuring that all athletes and fans have a sense of belonging and value.

Named after our school mascot the Olympia Bear, my project titled “Bears Support All Bears”focused on raising awareness about the inequities facing women’s sports and initiating direct action to combat this. High school athletics benefit schools by fostering community and school spirit while providing athletes opportunities for personal growth, skill development, and valuable life lessons. With over 300 female athletes within our school, we must ensure our women’s sports teams have equitable treatment, opportunities, and support from their peers. I believe that by increasing attendance at women’s sporting events, female athletes will feel equally valued in our school, thereby increasing school spirit and improving students’ sense of belonging at Olympia High School.

My strategy for eliciting a positive change in school culture involves 3 key approaches: One,gathering as much involvement as possible in our cause, such as by recruiting students from various student groups. Second, promoting all women’s sports social media content and having them reciprocate by reposting our content. Third, organizing special events that provide an incentive to attend games and highlight individual athletes.

On our project Instagram page (@bears_support_all_bears), we’ve exceeded our goals for social media growth by reaching 381 followers and making over 36,000+ impressions. To educate our audience about the importance of recognizing women’s sports on a broader scale, we created an Instagram story posting series called “HERStory in Sports.” Each post featured a notable female athlete in history, whether that be through high achievements in their career or social advocacy.Through hosting fun and engaging events such as a basketball free throw contest at halftime, t-shirt/sticker prizes, and speaking to over 1800+ students and staff at school assemblies about our mission, staff, parents, and athletes saw noticeably increased attendance rates at girls’ soccer,volleyball, & basketball home games with our events.

Through Bears Support All Bears, I aim to get as much of the school community involved as possible to build a lasting social awareness and collective enthusiasm for our message. Since the start of this project in September, approximately 108 students in total have been involved in project activities, which included DECA members, athletes, Spirit Crew, Yearbook, Journalism, ASB, and Advanced Marketing students.

Moving forward, I hope to expand this collective enthusiasm for women’s athletics to other schools in the community, creating widespread change. Using project management tools to ensure the accuracy of written materials, control quality, and analyze social media insights, has allowed me to organize and execute this project well thus far. Upon the end of this school year,my goal is to create resources for students interested in continuing this initiative even after I graduate.