World's highest-paid athletes: Not 1 woman on the list. Here's why

The annual Forbes list of highest-paid athletes reveals that for the first since its inception no female sports stars have made their cut in the list. Last year, Serena Williams, who was the only female athlete to make the 2017 list, fell out of the top 100 for 2018 after missing much of the year to give birth to her first child, Alexis.

Forbes' earnings figures include all prize money, salaries and bonuses earned between June 1, 2017, and June 1, 2018. Endorsement incomes for the same period are then added on.

It is a very sad truth that women-oriented sports does not attract the sponsors and advertisers. Women sports person don't earn as much as their male counterparts.

There is no evidence that boys are more athletically-inclined than girls. It's about the perception and mindset of common people that has led to a reduction in girls overall interest in sports.

There are other factors also, like lack of opportunity and encouragement and majorly disparity in income between men and women athletes. The disparity in the wage rate is one of the reasons for this "testosterone-heavy" Forbes list of highest paid athletes.

Serena's exit from the list is also throwing light on the female athletes who fail to return to their game after giving birth.

Here are some incidents that will throw lights on gender discrimination in sports:

1- Recently, prize money disparity between men and women cricketers was at the display when player Mithali Raj got $250 as a prize money for being the player of the match at the Women’s Asia Cup T20.

2- The lastest payscale of BCCI, in which the wages parity is beyond comparison. Grade C men players to receive INR 1 cr each and grade C women players to receive INR 10 lacs each.

3- When it comes to sports, income disparity is not limited to the Indian context, a few months back, 59-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova revealed that she was paid at least 10-times less than her fellow Wimbledon pundit John McEnroe by BBC for their broadcasting roles at Wimbledon.

She accused the British broadcaster when they published the salaries of their highest-paid stars last July, in brackets of £50,000.

After analysing the salary brackets, she realised that her fellow presenter McEnroe's pay packet was between £150,000 and £199,999 which was comparatively more than her.

Not only that women athletes have been facing other issues which are far more consequential than income disparity, for example, the recent case when US gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar was charged with sexual abuse of some elite female gymnasts. He assaulted victims during treatment for injuries.

In today's scenario, it is important to end this anti-women culture in sports because sportscan act as a catalyst to amplify women's voices against gender barriers and discrimination.