Just this week, Michelle Payne, an Australian female jockey, made headlines for being the first woman in 155 years to win the Melbourne Cup. Despite having gotten a 100-1 shot of winning the cup with her horse Prince of Penzance, she beat the odds and showed the world that women are not to be underestimated. Payne’s journey to the top was not an easy one. There have only been four females, including Payne, that have competed in the Melbourne Cup and for good reason. In an interview, Payne revealed how she was ridiculed and discriminated at for joining a male-dominated sport, examples of which include football, basketball among many others. She stated that male owners discouraged her from horse racing, going as far as trying to kick her out of competing. However, she persevered and debunked the stereotype that women have a weaker psychology than men and therefore cannot compete alongside them: “It’s not all about strength, there is so much more involved, getting the horse into a rhythm, getting the horse to try for you, it’s being patient and I’m so glad to win Melbourne Cup and hopefully, it will help female jockeys from now on to get more of a go. Because, I believe that we sort of don’t get enough of a go and hopefully this will help.” Payne’s situation is an example of sexual segregation, which is defined as physical, legal, and cultural separation of people according to their biological sex. This phenomenon appears all over the world. For example, Emirati and American women (among many others) are paid less than their male counterparts, have limited maternity leave, and encounter gender-based biases in their professional lives. Not every instance of sexual segregation is extreme, despite a widely-held misconception that sexual segregation is only found in Islamic nations where women are treated as second class, are given less benefits, and must be in the care of their brothers or husbands. Yet, in Dubai, women are allowed to hold jobs in the police force, military, and in other industries (e.g. technology, media, fashion, management); there are currently five female cabinet ministers in the UAE government and several women holding high positions in key government agencies. The more unfortunate part of all of this is that there are people that choose to trivialize this issue, whether based on the instances of equality or an extremely sexist point of view. Recently, Australian champion jockey, Glenn Boss made headlines for criticizing Payne after she told reporters of her experiences as a female jockey in a chauvinistic sport. He stated that “That’s just the way it’s been for a long time and the sooner people get their heads around that, the better.” This logic is a major reason why sporting competitions remain largely male dominated and why disparity between men and women not just in sports but in job opportunities and salary pay remains evident. For instance, the 2014 football cup prize money for men was 22 million euros while the football prize cup money for women was merely 630,000 euros. Men such as Glen Boss believe that sexual segregation is not that serious of an issue and fail to realize that women deserve to have equal rights and therefore equal pay and opportunities. Payne’s win has not only resurfaced a critical issue, but also afforded Payne the opportunity to leave a trail for the women who wish to follow in her footsteps and inspire those who are hesitant to defy the gender stereotypes and institutional barriers that holds them back from their well-deserved glory.

This article was written by Serena Uy. Please contact [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Chris Phutully via Flickr