A woman's place

T
. Swift has a new song called “The Man” which talks about inequality between men and women in the workplace. It’s a catchy little tune, but the message is rather serious. In the chorus, she sings “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man.”
As an independent woman who has raised two kids on my own and a professional person in two different realms of the working world, I consider myself on a level playing field with those who do the same work as me. 
I don’t claim to be better than my colleagues, but I have some accolades that support the fact that I do at least okay in both my jobs. 
But none of the awards I have won, or goals I have achieved have ever been founded on the fact that I am a woman. 
I recently read a tweet announcing that for the first time, an NHL game will be broadcast and produced by women in the US.
I was instantly jacked to see that this was going to happen and that women were getting the opportunity to tackle a very manly sport. And then I made the mistake of reading the comments on the tweet and here are just a few of them.
“Is it topless?”
“Lmaoooooooo”
“Will this make them win more games?”
“And I care why?”
“Will not watch”
“I’m listening to John and Troy that night for sure”
“No thanks”
“Look, if they’re GOOD at their jobs, I don’t give a crap. However, to this point there have been VERY FEW female sports broadcasters that have been any good. That’s any sport…”
There were a few who were supportive of this news, but most were derisive and insulting in their comments. 
Here we are in 2020 and yet still there is an obvious glass ceiling when it comes to women working in an industry that has been traditionally all-male.
As a sports reporter and a broadcaster, I take personal offense to this blatant sexism and just outright chauvinistic attitude that is evident among American society.
I don’t claim to be perfect by any means, but why is it that women aren’t capable of working in the world of sports? 
Some of the world’s finest athletes have been women. Take for example Serena and Venus Williams, Lindsey Vonn, Simone Biles, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mia Hamm and Candace Parker to start.
Then there’s Nadia Comeneci, Florence Griffith-Joyner, Kerri Walsh Jennings, Bonnie Blair, Janet Evans and Picabo Street.
These are just a few from a long list of talented, strong and capable female athletes who also, by the way, are articulate, intelligent women.
But, apparently women are incapable of broadcasting sporting events.
However, major sports networks have not been shy of placing women in leading roles within their production teams. 
Recently, Men’s Fitness released an article naming the top 15 female sports reporters and they identified six who work for ESPN, three for Fox Sports, two for CBS, one for NBC and two for foreign networks. 
The story described these women with glowing comments such as “[She] is as versatile and talented as they come…”, “brings a sharp sense of humor and unchallenged sports knowledge”, “one of the most talented interviewers in the business”, and “one of the best TV reporters in the business”. These are just a smattering of the recognitions given these women.
So, if the leading sports networks have been comfortable allowing women to cover sports for them, why are there still those out there who believe that females are incapable of taking the lead in broadcasting sporting events? 
It’s disheartening that these attitudes still exist in this day and age, and I long for a time when gender in the workplace will no longer be an issue.