The differences in women's sports vs. mens is no secret to any sports fan, whether you think it's justified or not. However, in the past there has been a comparison of the two, and speculation as to if this comparison is valid.
Historically, most women's professional sports hadn't been introduced until the second half of the 20th century, with the creation of the WNBA being the most recent in 1996. In contrast to this, mens sports have dated back to 776 B.C., with the first olympic games. Starting with this first discrepancy of there not even being a women's sports league, men have dominated the sports industry even with the addition of female leagues. The two are often compared to each other as if they are the exact same, highlighting how men’s sports are better because of their faster pace and physical advantages of the players in contrast to womens’. However, the two aren’t the same on many different levels, starting with the psychological differences between men and women.
According to a study by the University of Sydney, men and women have very different reactions when it comes to decision making. Women are more likely to weigh outcomes (pros and cons) before making their move, while men tend to take risks based on impulse decision making. Because of this, the games are already fundamentally different, making one faster than the other tends to be in cases such as basketball and soccer.
One would think these psychological differences as well as the obvious physical disparities would stop the comparison between the two, but comparison still seems to come up, even with regards to players’ skill level. Some would argue that a player such as Candace Parker isn’t as skilled as someone like Steph Curry, and pull up statistics such as points per game to prove this point. This particular argument should no longer be persuasive in the slightest- of course the two are going to have differing statistics, because the games they play are fundamentally different. They require different qualities, give different ways to excel, and are ultimately only compared using the precedents men’s sports have set before women’s sports leagues were even created.
Skill can be measured in many different shapes and forms, overall meaning that someone is excelling in whatever category is at hand. Men’s and women's sports are simply not the same, so comparing the athletes to one another or to go as far to say women’s athletes aren’t as skilled as men is invalidating to the dedication, careers and triumphs of ladies in sports.