Should female athletes get paid the same as males? Sport: football (soccer)

Introduction

Over the past decade, there has been an increase of interest for female sports, for instance the growing popularity in Women’s AFL, Women’s basketball and the upcoming Women’s world cup for soccer. However, there is a rising issue in the differences in payment between female and male athletes. This is evident through the fact that male athletes are currently earning between 25 to 100 percent more than their female counterparts.[1] This report will aim to explore the cultural and societal issue that has led to this large gap in wages between the sexes and if the general public believe the gap between male and female athletes should be closed.

Why has this issue become a problem?

For many decades, female athletes have not received equal revenue as apposed to their male counterparts. However, this differs depending on the sport. Soccer is known for being one of the main sports that female athletes are infrequently receiving equal revenue.

One of the main arguments for female athletes earning lower wages is that they don’t attract enough spectator interest, which affects women’s pay through sponsorship dollars.[2] However, the Australian’s soccer’s governing body announced that they would close the wage gape between the men’s and women’s national teams.[3] The men’s team, the Caltex Socceroo’s, and the women’s team, the Westfield Matildas, would share equal revenue as part of the deal between the Football Federation Australia and the Professional Footballers Australia Union.[4] This was possible because of recent protests about equal pay for female athletes, including the United States women’s national soccer team protest. The US women’s national team, which like the Matildas, outperform their male counterparts. This led to perusing legal actions, saying that they are not rewarded enough for their success. The Football Federation Australia responded in a statement saying that “The new agreement reflects football’s determination to address issues of gender equity in all facets of the game and build a sustainable financial model.” This also gives both female and males equal prize money in the World Cup and the Asian Cup. The federation also declared that they would give both teams equal resources and set aside money for development programs. However, the pay gap will persists when it comes to World Cup playoffs due to the tournament prizes varying drastically. An example of this is the prize money for the 2019 Women’s National Soccer team winners, which was $4 million. This figure is just half of what the Socceroos earn for qualifying to play in the World Cup.[5]

Another factor which plays an immense role within the wage gap between males and females are the number of opportunities that are presented to female athletes. Unfortunately, they are not given the same opportunities as male athletes. This is detrimental to those women who want to play sport at high levels as it hinders their sporting abilities and confidence. Throughout Australia there are thousands of clubs and academies helping potential football players develop their skills and knowledge of the game. Although this opportunity is presented for both genders, there are drastically fewer female academies and clubs. This makes it harder for female footballers to attract publicity through media, sponsors and spectators. This lack of opportunity leads to the stigma that women do not attract enough spectator interest, which in turn greatly affects their pay through sponsorship deals. If female athletes are presented the same opportunities as their male counterparts from a young age it would help close the gap in gender inequality throughout the sporting industry.

A survey was conducted using the online tool Survey Monkey to obtain a variety of young people’s opinions surrounding this issue. Thirty-two responses where received with twenty being male and twelve being female. Most responses received were very useful, providing opinions from both sides of the argument. Most of the respondents were for women footballers to be paid the same rate as males however, a small proportion of respondents were against equal pay. The following provides the reasons:

Not including prize money, male athletes in soccer make anywhere from 15% to nearly 100% more than female athletes. What are your thoughts on this?

For:

“These figures are a part of a deep-rooted issue within our society. Sportsmen are idolised, whilst sportswomen lack the coverage nor media attention, they require to be able to earn their rightful amounts. it’s extremely disheartening for little girls who are aiming to reach high within their respective sports.”

“I think that this wage gap is completely unfair and unacceptable, as much as males in sport have a bigger audience than women in huge sporting leagues. The reasoning behind that is the fact that women have never been allowed or encouraged to play and haven’t had a chance in their lives, women and men work as hard as each other in their sports and should be treated equally”

“I think that if you are at a national level you should be getting paid the same as everyone else as you’re all representing your state/country and if you’re at that level you should be getting paid the same as male or female”.

Against:

“It’s fair as the competition they are part of started of small and has worked its way to being as big as it is. This means that the female athlete’s competitions will eventually work their way to becoming bugger and earning the players more money”.

“I think that male athletes draw in larger crowds because of their increased physical ability. There is nothing wrong with women’s sports but there isn’t enough money made to subsidise female athletes pay to be equal to men. People just prefer to watch sport at a higher level”.

“Females aren’t up to the standards of 90% of male athletes therefore they shouldn’t be paid the same. Female athletes also don’t attract as much media attention therefore their income from fans and TV rights are substantially lower than males”.

Analyzing the results from the survey, it can be determined that the survey respondents were not bias on either side of the argument. Both sides outlined their thoughts on this issue providing valid arguments. However, those that were for equal or greater pay for female athletes, outlined their arguments with a greater understanding on the reasons for equal pay and the benefits associated with it.

In conclusion as presented throughout this report, there is a large wage gap between male and female athletes. This is seen through lack of opportunities, sponsorship and brand deals and systemic sexism throughout the industry. I believe that this gap needs to be closed. This can be done by creating the same opportunities for young female athletes at an early age as is the case for their male counterparts. Implementing more coed sport, where female and male athletes play together, is another way that everyone can be payed equally and ensuring that every male academy and club has a women’s league.

Bibliography

Nytimes.com. 2019. Australian Women And Men’S Soccer Teams Reach Deal To Close Pay Gap (Published 2019). [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/sports/soccer/australia-soccer-matildas-equal-pay.html [Accessed 15 November 2020].

En.wikipedia.org. n.d. Gender Pay Gap In Sports. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_pay_gap_in_sports [Accessed 16 November 2020].

Wgea.gov.au. 2019. 2019: The Defining Year For Equality In Sport | WGEA. [online] Available at: https://www.wgea.gov.au/2019-the-defining-year-for-equality-in-sport#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Australian%20Bureau,is%20a%20gap%20of%20%2424%2C752 [Accessed 17 November 2020].

[1] (Gender pay gap in sports, n.d.) Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_pay_gap_in_sports [Accessed 16 November 2020].

[2] (Gender pay gap in sports, n.d.) Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_pay_gap_in_sports [Accessed 16 November 2020].

[4] (Australian Women and Men’s Soccer Teams Reach Deal to Close Pay Gap (Published 2019), 2019) Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/sports/soccer/australia-soccer-matildas-equal-pay.html [Accessed 15 November 2020].

[5] (2019: the defining year for equality in sport | WGEA, 2019) Available at: https://www.wgea.gov.au/2019-the-defining-year-for-equality-in-sport#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Australian%20Bureau,is%20a%20gap%20of%20%2424%2C752 [Accessed 17 November 2020].