During a day at the gym, freshman Abbie Walker-Hackett walked over to the weight room to lift. Suddenly, she was surrounded by people saying “Why bother, you are much weaker than that man over there. Maybe you should go into a separate room and try lifting some of the five-pound weights?”

For most girls, this is realistic situation because these same ideals are forced upon them in their school gym classes and all over the media, despite the fact that sexism should not play a part in sports.

Girls are constantly separated from boys during physical activity, the reasoning behind this: they might not be able to “keep up” or “play as hard” as their male peers. The entire athletic world seems to be against them, always going out of its way to try to make them feel weaker. Femininity has become a type of insult. Saying someone “throws like a girl” has become a way of saying someone is weak and inferior; that feminine is inferior.

Gym teachers have even made girls’ points worth more when they are mixed in with the boys, saying they made this change because it is the only way girls could ever come close to winning. Through all of this, girls are mocked for not participating, for not being as strong or tough or competitive as the boys. But with everything girls are told in gym, in the classroom, by their peers and in the media, the message is clear: when it comes to sports, sexism, while it has no place there, still plays a huge role in sabotaging female success.

Media coverage has a big part in reinforcing sexism in sports. During the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics, swimmer Michael Phelps took home five gold medals and one silver. This story spread across thousands of screens. However, another story had significantly less publicity. This was the story of Katie Ledecky, 14-time world champion, five-time gold medalist, along with a silver medal, and a world record holder for the women’s 400, 800, and 1500 meter freestyle. She took home four gold medals and broke world records at the 2016 Olympic Games. It is exasperating to know that a woman who has had so much success did not receive the same acknowledgement as another athlete.

A study by sociology and gender studies professor Michael Messner and Associate Professor of American studies Cheryl Cooky on genders televised in sports showed that after examining 934 news network sports stories in 2014, the number of stories on male sports was at 880, while there were only 32 covering women’s sports. Just these numbers point out the fact that the media does not think female athletes are as deserving of coverage as men are.

Photos of female athletes are often sexualized as well, depicting little clothing, wavy hair, and dramatic faces, instead of the sweaty, hard-working action shots of men. This over-sexualization of female athletes is a much bigger deal than people give it credit for. A study by the University of Minnesota’s director of sports studies Jo Ann Buysse and a researcher on sexism in athletics Melissa Embser-Herbert found that when people saw sexualized athletes, they felt more doubt in their abilities. The tactic of showing more skin has dampened the accomplishments of female athletes, and made them difficult to take seriously.

Depleting sexism in sports seems like a difficult task; taking on an entire system— but little acts go a long way. Encouraging and speaking up for your female peers who try to tackle sports stereotypes, as well as writing to your local paper encouraging them to write more female sports stories with in-depth questions about the sport, and acknowledging female accomplishments just as males are acknowledged are simple steps to level the playing field in athletics.

Sexism in sports has lead several girls to believe that society sees them as the weaker and inferior gender. These ideas are only reinforced when they are placed in a different group from males in gym, excluding them and telling them they can not play with the boys because they are not as tough as them. All of this draws women away from sports and makes the fight for gender equality take several steps back.

Drawing women away from sports is also drawing them away from success. Ninety-six percent of women holding executive spots had played sports, and many of those women agreed that sports strengthened their leadership skills and gave them the confidence to go after their desired careers. Sports have also been shown to economically empower women, encourage better decision-making, give higher success rates, lower the rates of early pregnancy and gives women more motivation to continue their education.

Sexism in sports has been sabotaging all of these benefits. Refusing to acknowledge female athletes like male athletes are acknowledged is refusing them the same type of treatment and respect given to men. Sports are a huge influence on Americans; if showing less respect towards women is okay for physical activity, then it serves as a gateway for sexism to leak into other aspects of life.