Today I am going to talk to you about the equality between sportsmen and women. I believe that women aren't treated the same as men because personally I feel men benefit more. So why are women not treated fairly in sports?

Although many sports have moved into the 21st Century and award equal prize money at major competitions, 30% of sports including football, cricket and sqaush refuse to move forward. It has been argued that women's sport isnt as buisiness like as men's and that it doesn't generate enough interest to justify equality on the pay scale.

But this is because they refuse to give women's sport the same platform. Many sports that offer equal pay, also allow both men and women the chance to share a platform, like athletics, cycling, skating, swimming and gymnastics who have a World Championships that both genders are able to participate in.

However, as exhausting this issue may seem, things are slowly moving forward in Wales, with a significant number of governing bodies bringing in equal pay polices within the last decade, allowing sportswomen to flourish and make supported decisions about their careers. But it will not be enough until all sportswomen recieve pay parity.

Women put in the same amount of hours, sweat and arguably more sacrifice when taking part in elite sport. Rewards and recognition should reflect that.

56 sports were looked at in an extensive study. Out of 35 sports that pay prize money, 25 pay equally and 10 do not. Athletics, bowls, skating, marathons, shooting, tennis and volleyball have all paid equal prize money since before 2006. In the past decade in Wales, nine more sports have starting doing so like diving, sailing, taekwondo, windsurfing and some cycling events all achieving equality in the past couple of years.

Sports with the biggest disparity in prize money include the Football World Cup with a massive £22m for men compared to £630,000 for women. Another big difference in prize money is the Cricket World Cup with £2.5m for men and £47,000 for women. It is an uncomfortable fact that women earn less than men throughout their careers. But nowhere is the gender pay gap wider than in the world of sport.

The tennis Maters Series and Grand Slam tournaments are the exception. The winners of both the men's and women's championships this year at Wimbledon both walked away with £2m. Female players fought long and hard for prize money parity, but recently there was massive uproar after Djokovic, one of the top male players in the world, said men should earn more because their games sell more tickets.

With sports clubs, and leisure and fitness providers across the country signing up to offer opportunities, Welsh women and girls will have the opportunity to identify an activity that suits their interests. Increasing the amount of women and girls participating in sports is a priority for the Welsh Government.

Girls are being put off from participating in sports by their experiences in school PE lessons. Unfortunately, an emphasis on competitive sport may make the situation worse for some girls. Whatever the reality, competitive sports are having a knock on effect on schools and up and coming sports persons as they care more about and spend more money on sports for boys than girls.

From my research, I know that more men 62% take part in sport than women 51%. In year 10, 52% of boys participate in organised activity at least once a week compared to 44% of girls. There is a clear divide in participaion.

There is still plenty of work to be done to improve equalitiy both on the participation numbers and the prize money offered. We need to keep up the campaign for sportswomen to achieve equality in the World of sport and to be recognised for their hard work and dedication just like their male counterparts. Thanks for listening, any questions?