Hence, the concept of equal pay can also reduce the gender wage gap issue. In the NBA, there is a list of teams like the Bucks, Clippers, Celtics, and Warriors, who we know are contenders and are doing everything they can to compete for a championship. Lets look at the WNBA, whose marketing budget makes it difficult to build a fanbase and therefore revenue to support its athletes. Arguments for and against equal pay for the USWNT There is systematic sexism in sports that leads to unequal pay, which starts with how women are marketed by their own leagues. The US soccer team argue that they are not promoted to the same extent as their male counterparts. Please note that all the information I provide on this website is to my best knowledge. The sponsorship, the fandom, views, the facilities nothing matches. When you talk about money generation, youre talking about a lot of things sports merchandising, ticket sales, ad buys, among many others but all of this boils down to how many fans are watching, and whether that number, and its associated purchasing power, will exceed the outlay by backers, merchandisers, and advertisers. Here's five reasons why. Imagine if a female team tried and took on a male team. The argument that typically follows is: because they generate less money, female athletes should be paid less as well. In general, through equal pay schemes and the implied higher wages for women, women will also be much more willing to work in the corporate world since they can contribute more to the overall family income. THAT'S IT! It is clear why women athletes do not deserve equal pay. This is especially true for countries where women are still not regarded to be equally important as men and suffer from serious gender inequality. Education is crucial to get out of poverty and to succeed in life and it is therefore crucial to improve our global education opportunities as much as possible. The USWNT-Japan game in Denver area didn't just sell outit sold out in 10 minutes. You know why. The USWNT didnt just lose to the U-15 team, but they lost to the USMNT U-17 team with the score being 8-2 also. This new hub will pull together The Washington Posts most crucial stories on these issues. Mens sport is so heavily embedded in our social interactions and culture that women are routinely advised to bone up on male teams they have no interest in, just to be able to participate in office small talk and advance their careers. A Decade Of Fighting For Equal Pay In Sports - Forbes Teachers are burning out. No doubt true, just look at NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing. ESPN compares NBA basketball player Anthony Davis and WNBA Basketball player Nneka Ogwumike, who are both six-time All-Stars and were both the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA and WNBA draft. All rights reserved. Especially the women in this two part Fast and the Not So Furious series. The revenue does not all go to the sports league; it is also distributed to all the players. Its sad you consider yourself a journalist and come at us with such weak arguments. Others also argue that women athletes should have equal pay because they are also just as entertaining as men athletes. Look at the WNBA, for instance. Equal Pay for Men & Women in Sports - Right or Wrong? I have just the one question for you do you also feel that a D-list male actor should be paid the same for each film in which he stars as, say, Nicole Kidman, although her films bring in 1 million times more ticket sales than do his films? In this article, the pros and cons of equal pay are examined in detail. The adverse impacts are exacerbated even more by crises. Corporations may also take the requirements for equal pay into account when it comes to searching for new prospective employees. U.S. Soccer Says Women Don't Deserve Equal Pay Because They - Forbes When you put millions of dollars into marketing athletes and allowing fans to get to know a player they develop a connection with someone or something you are more engaged and continue to want to see/learn more. That is a gap of $24,752. As I went to university and got my Masters degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics. Terms of Service |Privacy Policy|CA Notice of Collection, For the past few decades, equal pay in womens sports has been a debatable topic. At the 2015 Open, Serena Williams hit a 126-miles-per-hour serve. faster than the fastest service from the mens champion, Novak Djokovic, reported Craig OShannessy in 2018 for the New York Times, who went on to list four other professional male tennis players Williams served faster than during the tournament. Evaluating Both Sides of the Pay-for-Play Debate (Part 2) We can talk about equal pay all we want, but it doesnt matter until we start investing equally in how we market and promote these athletes. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'environmental_conscience_com-leader-3','ezslot_11',193,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-environmental_conscience_com-leader-3-0'); Lets assume you are a quite ambitious worker and are willing to work long hours every day for your company while most of your colleagues work far less. Nobody likes watching a fixed game so lets fix the game. We dont acknowledge speed in women, even when its there. It states that within a company, every employee should get the same wage for the same work, independent of the gender of a person or other personal factors. Certainly not the worst version of it, but exploitation nonetheless. Davis and Ogumike both put up similar numbers. It is very clear why NBA players make more money than WNBA players they simply generate more revenue. Another argument is that women's national teams for sports like soccer have far more success than the men's national team. [The Liberty] hasnt made money, former owner of the WNBA team New York Liberty and current owner of the New York Knicks James Dolan told, Its prospects of making money, at that time and even today, are still slim., In the 2019 Wimbledon womens final, it averaged a viewership rating of 1.7 and 2.44 million viewers, with Simona Halep and Serena Williams competing against each other on ESPN, and Halep defeating Williams, according to. I think you would feel quite frustrated since all the hard work has not paid off for you. I think that our mens tennis world, ATP world, should fight for more because the stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the mens tennis matches,, One statistic tracker for tennis known as, creates a rating based on the players opponent skill and how many sets were played. More salary for athletes makes them more interesting to the public, evident from professional football players. Currently, not a lot will change. Which is to say the WNBA cant even generate enough money to pay their unequal salaries. And in the same week that the Australian Women's National Team won equal pay with their male counterparts, the USWNT's claim got a big boost. While these arguments are valid from an emotional standpoint, they do not hold up when it comes to economics. The Fight for Equal Pay in Women's Sports One statistic tracker for tennis known as Universal Tennis Rating creates a rating based on the players opponent skill and how many sets were played. The USSF contends that the pay differential is primarily a result of "differences in aggregate revenue . If WNBA players demand a higher salary that would match the NBA, the league could not afford it because the WNBA simply does not bring in the same amount of money as the NBA. Another oft-cited argument regarding the gender pay gap is that women voluntarily leave the workforce to have children and then are simply paid less because they have been out of the workforce. Exploitation. But lets say a woman does, somehow, with little-to-no encouragement or social logic, muster an abiding passion for a womans sports team. They are much less likely than men to have a mobile internet connection that would allow them to stream or follow a match. No fans means no tv deals, no jersey sales, no ticket sales. In the long run, through this increased awareness, it will become more likely that corporations rethink their strategy towards a more open and tolerant company culture. Numerous studies found that men are more talented in area A whereas women are more talented in area B. Its also probably the most gender unequal; Hegerberg tops the list of highest-paid female footballers, with an annual income of US$431,337, while Lionel Messi, the highest-earning male footballer, earns US$140 million each year. According to ESPN, they argue that women athletes do deserve equal pay because they perform the same or better statistically than men athletes. Lets just have sport with no racial, sexual or ability discrimination. Get down on your knees lady players! Which is probably why some female tennis players have been resistant to the call for them to play five-set matches at majors in order to earn equality; theyre already playing at the top level according to the rules of their game, and they train accordingly, just like the top male tennis players are training and playing toward the rules of their game. K-pop group NCT DREAM celebrates first North American tour, AP African American Studies receives harsh backlash despite current success, Further steps are taken to tackle the adolescent mental health crisis, NBA middle teams and strategies for advancement. Before this would even have a chance to happen, women would have to be competing with men, exactly on the same fair field, like they already do in other areas that have nothing to do with competitive professional sports. "And we need more people at our table to fight with us," she told Wealthsimple. Women just need to compete in the NBA when one is good enough then she can start getting paid on their leveloh yah they arent good enough .and sothey dont get paid the sameend of story. These comments are terrible, its not sexism it is equality. n womens sports we talk a lot about equal pay. Bollocks. Even if jobs are quite similar, women still earn less money compared to men in most cases. Reaction: Raymond Moore and THOSE comments. This may lead to a state where corporations may be less eager to employ women, especially for jobs where men are much more productive since companies will be able to maximize profits by doing so. One of the main arguments against equal pay in sports is that revenue plays a significant role in determining salaries. Try telling that to an average football fan, and companies dont invest money in cause but in well returning ideas, they saw potential in USA women football team. In 2018, the WNBA team attracted only 7,716 fans per game, which was far less than the fans attracted by NBA teams per game. All the other social engineering nonsense you spout out is neither relevant or persuasive. In the first installment of this two-part series, I broke down four arguments often made in opposition to the pay-for-play concept in college athletics. Even in Flush Tennis, Equal Pay is a Struggle - New York Times Men completely dominate, whether you like it or not. The demand for equal pay for female athletes at face value seems like a fair one. Women in this category earn AU$42,900 (US$33,301). If youre at the top of it, you deserve standardized, top-level pay in recognition of your top-level performance. Nike has invested heavily in this years World Cup, marketing it like crazy in order to build up a fanbase. Why do we segregate between sexes, it is so out of date. Women arent competing against men; theyre competing against other women. "There need to be more women . More than 20 players filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, seeking equitable pay and treatment compared to the men's team. by Laila Mayfield | Arts and Entertainment, Featured. is Rafael Nadal at a 15.95 rating and the highest-rated womens player is Naomi Osaka at a 13.40 rating. The USA women's national team celebrates their win of the SheBelieves Cup soccer tournament March 9, 2016 in Florida (Getty) (Getty Images). Nike unveils period-conscious England women's kit with blue shorts, How major sporting events are boosting Middle East economies. But in May 2020, the majority of. All The Arguments You Need: Equal playing field? - SportsUnfold . Women sports are not often broadcasted. At the end of a mens tournament, no one is saying yeah but this champion had two super-easy matches in the round-robin stage, so he should only get 80% of the prize. Another issue of equal pay policies is that there will be many loopholes that can be exploited by companies. The big pay disparity lies in bonuses that come from Fifa games. Equal pay fixes one cog in this cycle of inequity, with ripple effects: the more female athletes are paid on-par with their male counterparts, the more womens sport is seen as a viable and acceptable option for women, the more interest there is in womens sport, the more investment in resources, infrastructure, and marketing for womens sport, the more access to womens sport grows, the more competitive the womens field becomes, the more commercial opportunities for revenue, the more ad buys and further investment in womens sport, the more exposure to womens sport, the more interest in womens sport, the more commercial opportunities for profit. Many women earn less than men since they simply do not stand up for themselves and when it comes to salary negotiations, women are often not brave enough to demand higher wages. If you put tennis mens singles and womens singles rank 1 players toe to toe, who would win? From the 7.4 billion dollars that the NBA generates, NBA players are given at least 53% percent of the revenue generated. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'environmental_conscience_com-box-4','ezslot_2',142,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-environmental_conscience_com-box-4-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'environmental_conscience_com-box-4','ezslot_3',142,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-environmental_conscience_com-box-4-0_1');.box-4-multi-142{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}In such cases, equal pay can help since it promotes equal pay for equal work and if you do the same work in the same quality as your colleagues, chances are that you will also get the same wage at the end of the month. USWNT's Journey to Equal Pay: How it Happened - New York Times But lets look at what happens when companies take that risk based on the assumption that womens sport has the potential to be profitable. That means on average female athletes are earning 63% of their male . The revenue does not all go to the sports league; it is also distributed to all the players. Its not feasible and you even suggesting it is asinine. The NBA average attendance was around 18,000, almost three times more, and tickets cost an average of $89, about four times more. That was really unfair and borderline crime. is a series in which The Swaddle team indulges your pity party with advice you'll probably ignore. Sport is one of the most high-profile, high-earning, most-aspired-to fields in the world. Therefore, equal pay schemes may not only be beneficial on an individual basis, but also for the economy of a country as a whole. Cheering you on from Aus on the #RoadToRiopic.twitter.com/ZUHkfm8Gd7, AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) February 21, 2016. Thus, women athletes should not receive equal pay with male athletes until they actually deserve it. stated that more than 1 billion people watch the FIFA Womens World Cup in 2019. US Soccer claims it won't pay women equally because being a - CNN Wage gap is one of the most overt areas of prejudice, as women remain far behind men when it comes to being paid in sports. Last year Jason Day won the PGA Championship and received $1,800,000. By: Dan Matheson. Hence, equal pay can not only benefit women on an individual basis, it can also lead to a better corporate culture in general and may therefore also increase the quality of life of male workers as well. Women athletes also arent as skilled in soccer the USWNT lost to an under 15 year (U-15) old Dallas FC team in 2017, with the score being 5-2, according to the, Northeastern Illinois University Independent. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the median full-time annual income for men that are classified as a sportsperson (includes athletes from all levels that earn money from their sport) is AU$67,652 (US$52,515). In womens sports we talk a lot about equal pay. So, for the next time you hear someone say: Lets break this down. [The Liberty] hasnt made money, former owner of the WNBA team New York Liberty and current owner of the New York Knicks James Dolan told the Washington Post. Using your (lack of) logic, surely you feel that he should be paid the same amount as she is, seeing as though he worked just as hard as she did & the films last for roughly the same duration? Consequently, equal pay may also be bad for some children who will get less attention from their parents. The ROI is not the same. In a whole WNBA season, there are 204 games played and a maximum of 35 playoff games if played to the max of five games. Since your outstanding work will not be rewarded too much due to equal pay policies, chances are that you will not be willing to work hard in the long run since you will not be rewarded for it in a sufficient manner most of the time.