When little girls want to play football, they are not strong enough. For boxing, they are too delicate. They tire too easily for sprints. Cricket? Oh no, they can’t possibly hit the ball strong enough to score a six. It seems that, if we did go around the sporting world in eighty days, the reason society gives for not enough women being there is that they just don’t have the physical strength needed to succeed in these fields. Even though that is a completely untrue reason, what is their excuse for not having enough women in the field of chess? As far as we all know, there is no physical activity involved in playing chess, unless you count flipping the board in rage when you lose.
But while society keeps giving you excuses, let's look at the real reasons.
( Warning: May elicit anger against the existing systems of power in society with a strong desire to overrule patriarchy. Proceed at your own caution.)
#1: The box of gender norms society traps girls in.
It’s no new news that society has very strong notions of what a girl should do, and what a boy should do; notions that are inflicted from a very young age. This looks like little girls getting Barbies to play with, even if they asked for that red toy car their brother has. And unfortunately, chess, a sport dominated by men throughout history, just does not fall into the list of what society calls “acceptable things you need to do to become a lady.” What this means is that for the most part, parents don’t even send their little girls to chess competitions and training, or, even allow them to play it at home. That is one of the main reasons why only 15% of all the licensed players in the world are women, according to the International Chess Federation.
But, even if some girls are allowed to play chess, they still can’t devote their sole attention or even a majority of attention to it, because the demands from them are even more. UNICEF reports that girls, on average, perform 40% more chores. It’s no wonder that this lack of free time translates to lower chess achievement for girls. But they are also expected to look after their families and care for them. Playing professional chess, going to chess competitions for days on end, traveling worldwide, while still performing your 'duty' is something that really doesn't go together.
But the weird thing is, telling girls that they are not capable of playing chess is not something that only parents do. Eva Repková, who heads the commission for women’s chess at the International Chess Federation, says women are ‘naturally’ disadvantaged in chess, suggesting that girls are more naturally suited to “flower arranging.” In a world where women themselves don’t believe that they are suited to play chess, how are little girls supposed to be inspired and break this box that society has trapped them in?
#2: Sexism in the industry itself
When male players are always just ‘better’, and women can’t do anything to get to that level; when a man loses to a woman in chess only because he has a headache or is having a bad day; when a woman has to pay men to have practice matches with her. A female chess player has to overcome too many barriers to make it.
In one study, researchers pitted male and female chess players against each other online. The sexes performed equally when identities were anonymous, but when the sex of the opponents was known, female players performed worse against male players and better against other female players. It seems that after repeatedly hearing that you can never be as good as a man in chess, you somehow start believing it.
Not that, but there is also a stark pay gap between men and women tournaments. Ju Wenjun won $500,000 after she won the last Women’s World Championship. Magnus Carlsen won $1 million for the ‘main’ World Championship.
Because of both these reasons, fewer women enter the world of chess, and even fewer succeed in it. We want to solve that. I hope you do too. So, what can be done?
A huge number of things. Mandating that a chess club team (typically made up of 8 players) has at least one woman. Paying women the same for the same competition. Encouraging the little girls (and boys) you see to join the world of chess, or even just asking them to play a small game of chess with you. Constantly supporting notions that women are no less than men, by having not only female chess players but also male chess players speak out about sexism in the chess industry. Acknowledging the talent of female chess players, and increasing funding for them to enter tournaments that otherwise would be too expensive. Doing any of these can make a huge difference. Doing any of these may be the reason why that little girl across the street from you might straighten her shoulders and smile proudly, before saying, “Checkmate!”.
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