Sexism, like racism, is a scourge that must be banished.

This week, a BBC One documentary entitled Sexism in Football? brought to the public attention the on-going struggle for equality of women who are involved with the beautiful game. It initially focused on the event which first brought sexism in football to the public eye, the departure from Sky Sports of Andy Gray and Richard Keys in January 2011. However, the documentary soon made clear that that was only the tip of the iceberg. Females involved in football, from journalists to administrative staff, have faced some serious obstacles - from being barred from certain areas and events at stadiums (including press briefings and the tunnel) to out-and-out sexual harassment.

As highlighted by the BBC's Mark Chapman on the documentary, a differentiation has to be made between 'women involved in football' and 'women's football'. The latter is gradually evolving and becoming more high profile, with the Women's Super League launching in England last year and the continuation of the UEFA Women's Champions League (which Lyon won at Craven Cottage last year) and other tournaments which are becoming more prominent. While it is still a long long way behind the men's game in terms of finance and heritage, it will undoubtedly continue to improve and it is possible that one day in the future a generation of women's players will be as talented as their male counterparts. However, the focus of the documentary was on the struggles of the women who are involved alongside the men's game.

For obvious physical reasons, men and women can't compete professionally at football in the same matches and tournaments. This is understandable, and probably does mean that there will always be more men involved in the running of men's football than women. However, that does not mean there is not room for more women to be involved in football. 25% of crowds at football matches are now female, and in my three years spent at university I have personally met females who know and care more about football than many of the males who call themselves football fans. There are plenty of non-playing roles out there, from journalists and match officials to medical staff and even board members of both clubs and the organisational bodies.

I do not believe that any woman should be appointed just for the sake of appointing a woman, but I do believe that everybody should be treated equally. If women apply for a position working within the game, they should be given as fair a chance as any men they are running against. Just as importantly, if they are appointed, they should not be subjected to abuse or discrimination from their colleagues or people around the football club. Many people have used the parallel of racism, which has gone from the dark days of the '70s and '80s where it was rife, to the outrage now caused by the (relatively) isolated cases which have arisen in recent months. Clearly both racism and sexism are problems in society, but the intelligent majority of human beings know that both are fundamentally and morally wrong. Women such as Gabby Logan, the presenter of the BBC One documentary, and assistant referee Sian Massey (of Keys-and-Gray-gate fame) have shown that they can do a perfectly good job working within football. The door should be held wide open for many others to join them. Football fans should eventually reach a stage where they do not bat an eyelid at the gender of a match official, commentator or club owner. Perhaps society can't lead the way towards an end to discrimination. But maybe football, as the most popular sport in the world, has the power to lead society towards a discrimination-free world.

Follow James on Twitter @jfaphillips