Is there Gender Equality in Sports?

Every morning, we pledge allegiance to our flag, delighting in the fact that our country provides liberty and justice for all. But when we take a closer look at our country, it appears that liberty and justice are only provided for some. The 2015 win of the World Cup by the U.S. Women’s Soccer team highlighted some of the gender inequality in sports, particularly in pay; the women’s team was paid 2 million dollars for winning the cup for the third time, while the men’s team was paid 9 million for losing in the 16th round.

Ever since that fact was revealed, people have been taking a closer look at the pay gaps in sports, and what they found is appalling. Not only is the U.S. Women’s soccer team severely underpaid, other women’s sports teams are too.

Which teams pay up, and which don’t

Tennis is the most gender equitable sport, but Serena Williams, the number one female tennis player in the world, earned 37,000 dollars less than her male counterpart. In golf, the winner of the LPGA golf tournament went home with only 810,000 dollars, significantly less than the male winner’s 1.8 million dollars.

There is obviously a problem here. Not only are women paid significantly less, there seems to be no reason why, except for the fact that they are women. It begs the question, is there a reason for the pay gap that we don’t know about?

Is there a reason for the gender gap?

One thing to consider is the revenue that each team brings in. The NBA brought in more than 5 billion dollars last year while the WNBA barely broke even. While this is a legitimate reason for the pay difference, it is also a problem; the WNBA doesn’t get nearly as much recognition as the NBA or as they deserve. Not only that, but the NBA is paid 2.6 billion dollars for rights to air their games, while the WNBA is paid only 12 million.

Another possible reason is that men might play more games. The regular NBA season is 82 games vs the WNBA’s 34. To qualify for the World Cup, the women’s soccer team play 5 games in a two week period, while the Men’s team play 16 games over a two year period. But that’s not the end of the story.

It seems fair that the men would get paid more for playing more games, but they are not being paid equally for each game played. If both teams were paid the same amount for the games that they play, that would be much fairer. Not only that but the US Women’s soccer team plays more games in the year than just the World Cup, and they perform significantly better.

Liberty and Justice

Although men’s teams usually bring in more revenue, that is the result of less marketing for the women’s teams, and generally less interest in women’s sports. Not only that, but when women’s teams do bring in more revenue, they aren’t compensated for it. And while some men’s teams might play more games, they all put in effort, and should be paid equally for each game.

It’s important to make sure that women know that their sports are important and valuable. They face enough sexism and competition with men in their everyday lives, it has to feel terrible to know that there is another place, on the field, where they are less valued.

It’s up to us to advertise women’s games and players, make sure they know we support them, and pay them equally. Until we do, we might as well change our pledge to be more truthful, and let people know that our country provides liberty and justice – for some.

Read the companion story: Inequality in the office