Olympic inequality ironic

Posted April 5, 2022

By Natalie Hebert

Isn’t it ironic that women won more medals at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics than the men, yet they were at a disadvantage with the number of events offered? Even though the Olympics are more “gender-equal” compared to previous Olympics, the IOC has things it can improve to make future Olympics fully gender-equal.

The U.S. finished the Winter Olympics in fourth place overall, with a medal count of 25. The women won 17, 13 in the women’s events, and four in mixed-gender events. The men won eight. The U.S. won more medals in women’s events than any other nation, though the Dutch claimed the most gold in the women’s events. The outstanding women that won gold were Kaillie Humphries in women’s mono bobsleigh, Chloe Kim in snowboarding women’s halfpipe, Lindsey Jacobellis in women’s snowboarding, and mixed-gender snowboarding team, Ashley Caldwell in mixed-gender freestyle skiing team, and Erin Jackson women’s 500m speed skating.

“Erin Jackson made history when she shot to gold in the women’s 500m, becoming the first American to win the event since 1994 and the first Black American woman ever to win an Olympic speed skating medal,” stated NBC Olympics.

Following Jackson’s success, 52% of medals were won in women’s events. Comparatively, 32% in men’s events and 16% in mixed-gender events. Women had a higher percentage of medals even though there are currently more events for men than women. There are 46 events for women compared to 51 for men, plus 12 events for mixed gender. The roster also consisted of 108 women, 115 men, and one non-binary athlete.

For future Olympics to be even close to being “gender-equal,” there needs to be the same number of events for women as there are for men.