 Gender Equality in Sports Female participation and popularity in sports increased dramatically in the 20th century, especially in the last quarter century, reflecting changes in modern societies that emphasized gender parity. Although the level of participation and performance still varies greatly by country and by sport, women's sports are widely accepted throughout the world today. Although there has been a rise in participation by women in sports, a large disparity still remains. Before each ancient Olympic Games there was a separate women's athletic event held at the same stadium in Olympia, the Hurrian Games, dedicated to the goddess Hera. In the first Olympic Games in the early modern era, which were in 1896 were not open to women, but since then the number of women who have participated in the Olympic Games have increased dramatically. The modern Olympics had female competitors from 1900 onward, though women at first participated in considerably fewer events than men. Women first made their appearance in the Olympic Games in Paris in 1900. That year, 22 women competed in tennis, sailing, equestrian, and golf. In the 21st century Heather Watson and Fuyuon we broke one of the last taboos in women's sport when both openly admitted they were menstruating, Watson after a self-described poor performance in a tennis match in 2015, and Fuyuon we at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The 2012 London Olympics were the first games of their kind in which women competed in every sport. The fight for women to gain equality on national levels and in professional leagues, in terms of pay and better funding, has continued. The pay gap in women's sports is a controversial and significant issue. Sports still remain dominated by men, financially and globally. Recently there has been much more crossover as to which sports males and females participate in, although there are still some differences. It is important to give women equal opportunity in sport governance. Society will need to move away from the social conditioning of women into gender stereotype roles and allow for young girls to choose their own path, especially if that includes an interest in sports. Men must begin to see women as equals before women can truly be equals.