I stopped at the red light. I looked to the right and I saw a group of athletics training: before, as a professional runner, with sunglasses, shorts and permeable t-shirt, surrounded by two or three boys. Behind, several meters away, two girls. I watched the two girls from the top down, smiling and halfway.

My first thought was to try to detect the reason for that behavior, given that it was obvious that these girls have no less physical capacity than the guys in the group, and my first conclusion is that these girls were doing what is expected of them by internalizing social stereotypes.

We hear time and again that the mixed model of education on equality is appropriate, also in sport. In this regard, Jon Torner has just published an article in ARGIA. I myself spoke about the data, arguing for the importance that, if there is no equality, children should participate separately, and that women should carry out a process of body empowerment in sport. I see this clearly in the collective sports practised by the majority of boys and girls, and I recognise the desirability of the participation of both sexes in other sports activities provided that co-education is guaranteed. In the same article, Itsaso Nabaskues provides other examples of “leisure” that are not these “typical sports” in school sport and that boys and girls practice together, such as ice hockey or athletics.

In short, it is not the same activity that is adequate or inadequate, but the way it is carried out. It is true that the most valued sports in society have traditionally been the field of men and, consequently, men have had the most opportunities to acquire knowledge and skills in this field. This has influenced the interaction between boys and girls, and as stated in that article, girls show less prominence and less initiative attitudes. But the sports field is a mirror of society and social differences are reflected in the sports field, in some cases, more subtle in others.

We cannot, therefore, think that in order to promote equality it is enough to change the supply; the problem is structural, and so we have to give it the answer. I am convinced that the members of the women's teams who are training today to run, before living the process of empowerment, would give me the same answer as the two girls who went through the traffic lights on the experience of training with boys.