Alex Morgan U.S. women's soccer team star
Overview
Featured Resource:
Forbes Women's soccer
The United States Women’s National team has won three World Cups and four Olympic gold medals. Yet despite their amazing achievements. Despite being one of the most famous sports teams in the world they make a fraction of what the U.S. Men's team makes. They claim discrimination in many other forms of play as well including: lack of televised games, poor playing conditions, lower-class travel, and less investment in players and coaching staff all compared to their male counterparts. Pay inequality between male and female athletes has been a topic that has been an issue for a long time. However, with the Women’s team filing suit against the U.S. Soccer Federation equal pay for equal play is an issue that has finally reached the public spotlight. Female athletes gaining fans based on their many valid complaints.
Their biggest gripe soccer’s gender pay gap. Just how big is it? It’s hard to make apples-to-apples comparisons as the pay is structured differently but in a word: jaw-dropping. The U.S. Women’s National Team makes 25% less than the men’s team. In fact, the men’s team got paid 8 million for losing their World Cup bid and the women got paid 1.8 for winning theirs. Little wonder that in the last two to three years female athletes have been pushing for better wages. Some have even gone as far to say that pro women should make equal wages to pro men. However, what these advocates fail to understand is how much more profit male sports teams generate. In TV ratings alone the men generate hundreds of millions more than the women, not to mention jersey sales, and ticket sales — the earnings aren't even close. Another problem posed by the women wanting higher wages? Women's sports leagues may have to fold because the leagues profit margins simply don’t allow them to pay their athletes a salary identical to a man’s in the same sport. The reason male athletes are paid such inflated sums is because of how much money the teams make. Teams like the LA Dodgers, a men's baseball team, earns $462 million in revenue every year, compared to the Minnesota Lynx of the WBNA which doesn't even earn $1 million in revenue per year. I'm not saying these hard working women don't deserve to make as much money as the men do, but logistically it's just not possible for the women to get equal pay for equal play due to the role of the market in determining their salaries. However, there could be a possible solution for female athletes to make more. This solution is for advocates of gender equality and equal rights to actually start supporting the Women's teams by watching their games and buying their merchandise. This would generate more popularity and profits for the women's teams... profits teams could use to pay their athletes more.
Another point of contention? Supporters of women's equality make the compelling argument that hard work is the true marker for how much athletes should get paid. The physical wear and tear is in some cases the same but often times greater on female athletes. Scientist have recorded that women have approximately 30% less muscle in their body, most noticeably in the neck and shoulders. And so to play spots requiring upper body strength like golf and tennis women really do have to play harder than men. Science also says that female athletes due to their hormones and build are at greater risk for injury. So if pay should be based on hard work it’s a no brainer. And many people will agree that because females have to work harder and are at greater risk for injury they should be paid just as much as the males. Of course, the other side of the coin is that men due to their hormones and build have a greater athleticism that makes them more exciting to watch.
Lastly, women's athletics at the collegiate level are not given the same budget. Women's sports have been given less money to give out in athletic scholarships. A 1997 study showed that in D1 schools, female athletes were given $143 million less than male sports. This brings the argument that If given the same budget, the sports could be equally as interesting and exciting, as each school could have an evenly distributed array of standout athletes instead the three power schools. Who knows? Higher funding could give female athletes improved facilities and coaching, making them better at their respective sports thus making the sports more exciting at the next level. Increase funding for marketing at the college level could also increase the popularity of the sport at the college level and in turn the professional level. Maybe an even distribution of funds could provide us a different way to look at women's athletics.
When analyzing pay, it is clear that there is an argument to be made that gender discrimination goes on in professional sports. Female athletes gross a small fraction of what their male counterparts make (The highest paid female soccer player in England makes £65,000 a year while British Men’s star Wayne Rooney makes £300,000 in a week’s time). The disparity in pay, alongside a significantly lower budget for women’s sports at the highest level of collegiate athletics in the U.S forms a concrete argument that gender discrimination is real in professional sports. The opposition to these pundits frequently point out that women’s sports bring in a fraction of what the men earn in TV contracts alone. Efforts by the Men’s leagues to support and market the women’s leagues in their respective sports and increasing funds to women’s sports at a grass roots level are ways to help combat the issue but there is no end all solution apparent at the time. Women clearly work as hard and as much as men, but does it warrant equality in pay despite a vast difference in financial gross. This issue begs the question, what is the value of hard work? As the world perpetuates towards a time of gender equality, it will be interesting to see what kind of answers the sports world comes up with.
Article composed by Harrison, Lamont, Nick, Ryan
Forbes Women's soccer
The United States Women’s National team has won three World Cups and four Olympic gold medals. Yet despite their amazing achievements. Despite being one of the most famous sports teams in the world they make a fraction of what the U.S. Men's team makes. They claim discrimination in many other forms of play as well including: lack of televised games, poor playing conditions, lower-class travel, and less investment in players and coaching staff all compared to their male counterparts. Pay inequality between male and female athletes has been a topic that has been an issue for a long time. However, with the Women’s team filing suit against the U.S. Soccer Federation equal pay for equal play is an issue that has finally reached the public spotlight. Female athletes gaining fans based on their many valid complaints.
Their biggest gripe soccer’s gender pay gap. Just how big is it? It’s hard to make apples-to-apples comparisons as the pay is structured differently but in a word: jaw-dropping. The U.S. Women’s National Team makes 25% less than the men’s team. In fact, the men’s team got paid 8 million for losing their World Cup bid and the women got paid 1.8 for winning theirs. Little wonder that in the last two to three years female athletes have been pushing for better wages. Some have even gone as far to say that pro women should make equal wages to pro men. However, what these advocates fail to understand is how much more profit male sports teams generate. In TV ratings alone the men generate hundreds of millions more than the women, not to mention jersey sales, and ticket sales — the earnings aren't even close. Another problem posed by the women wanting higher wages? Women's sports leagues may have to fold because the leagues profit margins simply don’t allow them to pay their athletes a salary identical to a man’s in the same sport. The reason male athletes are paid such inflated sums is because of how much money the teams make. Teams like the LA Dodgers, a men's baseball team, earns $462 million in revenue every year, compared to the Minnesota Lynx of the WBNA which doesn't even earn $1 million in revenue per year. I'm not saying these hard working women don't deserve to make as much money as the men do, but logistically it's just not possible for the women to get equal pay for equal play due to the role of the market in determining their salaries. However, there could be a possible solution for female athletes to make more. This solution is for advocates of gender equality and equal rights to actually start supporting the Women's teams by watching their games and buying their merchandise. This would generate more popularity and profits for the women's teams... profits teams could use to pay their athletes more.
Another point of contention? Supporters of women's equality make the compelling argument that hard work is the true marker for how much athletes should get paid. The physical wear and tear is in some cases the same but often times greater on female athletes. Scientist have recorded that women have approximately 30% less muscle in their body, most noticeably in the neck and shoulders. And so to play spots requiring upper body strength like golf and tennis women really do have to play harder than men. Science also says that female athletes due to their hormones and build are at greater risk for injury. So if pay should be based on hard work it’s a no brainer. And many people will agree that because females have to work harder and are at greater risk for injury they should be paid just as much as the males. Of course, the other side of the coin is that men due to their hormones and build have a greater athleticism that makes them more exciting to watch.
Lastly, women's athletics at the collegiate level are not given the same budget. Women's sports have been given less money to give out in athletic scholarships. A 1997 study showed that in D1 schools, female athletes were given $143 million less than male sports. This brings the argument that If given the same budget, the sports could be equally as interesting and exciting, as each school could have an evenly distributed array of standout athletes instead the three power schools. Who knows? Higher funding could give female athletes improved facilities and coaching, making them better at their respective sports thus making the sports more exciting at the next level. Increase funding for marketing at the college level could also increase the popularity of the sport at the college level and in turn the professional level. Maybe an even distribution of funds could provide us a different way to look at women's athletics.
When analyzing pay, it is clear that there is an argument to be made that gender discrimination goes on in professional sports. Female athletes gross a small fraction of what their male counterparts make (The highest paid female soccer player in England makes £65,000 a year while British Men’s star Wayne Rooney makes £300,000 in a week’s time). The disparity in pay, alongside a significantly lower budget for women’s sports at the highest level of collegiate athletics in the U.S forms a concrete argument that gender discrimination is real in professional sports. The opposition to these pundits frequently point out that women’s sports bring in a fraction of what the men earn in TV contracts alone. Efforts by the Men’s leagues to support and market the women’s leagues in their respective sports and increasing funds to women’s sports at a grass roots level are ways to help combat the issue but there is no end all solution apparent at the time. Women clearly work as hard and as much as men, but does it warrant equality in pay despite a vast difference in financial gross. This issue begs the question, what is the value of hard work? As the world perpetuates towards a time of gender equality, it will be interesting to see what kind of answers the sports world comes up with.
Article composed by Harrison, Lamont, Nick, Ryan
For more information
Additional Resources:
More on the Wage gap in Basketball
Great article comparing the Men's and Women's National Soccer Teams
More on the Wage gap in Basketball
Great article comparing the Men's and Women's National Soccer Teams