How do we address the inequality in women sports
Introduction:
Women have historically faced many barriers in the workplace that are linked to gender inequality. A huge wage gap between genders is widespread among professional sports. Female athletes are consistently paid less than their male counterparts. According to Simone French, Professor of Phycology at the University of Minnesota, male athletes in basketball, golf, soccer, baseball, and tennis made anywhere from 15 percent to 100 percent more than female athletes. The issue regarding gender inequality has been a huge problem for years, dating back to 1920, where women were given the opportunity to enter the workforce(French 2013). In order to address this inequality in the workforce, legislation was passed, hoping to eliminate the wage gap among genders. In 1963, the Equal Pay Act was passed by Congress and signed by president Kennedy, which prohibits gender-based wage discrimination in the United Staes(Equal Pay Act 2017). While born of good intentions, the Act falls drastically short of its intended goal. According to Nicole Zerunyan, professor of law at Loyola University, “Its[Equal Pay Act] restrictive language—specifically, its “same establishment” requirement—excludes separately owned teams. As most men’s and women’s professional sports teams are separately owned, their players are effectively barred from bringing wage-discrimination claims”(Zerunyan, Nicole 2019). Despite the limit of the equal pay act, equal pay among genders, especially in sports, is impossible under current conditions because women's sports doesn’t generate as much money as that of men. Thus, many argue that the gender wage gap is, in fact, fair. However, on another perspective, low media coverage, which results in a small fanbase, is a very significant factor that led to the low productivity of women's sports. With equal media coverage and good commercial and advertising, women's sport will attract more attention and gain a larger fanbase. This could significantly increase the productivity of women's sports, ultimately decreasing the wage gap between male and female athletes.
Wage gap and productivity:
A gender wage gap is especially prevalent in professional sports, an industry that was historically dominated by men. In most sports where women have the opportunity to participate professionally, unequal pay is the norm. According to John Walters, president and CEO of Hudson Institute, fifty-two National Basketball Association (NBA) players were each paid more individually than all of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players’ salaries combined(Zerunyan 2019). The prize values for sports tournaments are also very different between male and females. According to the women's sports foundation, “the women's national football team of the USA received $2million for winning the Women's World Cup in 2015 while the men's team, which finished in 11th place, gained 9 million dollars”(Cepeda 2021). According to Isabel Cepeda, a former professional tennis player, in tennis, women obtained a little more than 500 million dollars from 2010 to 2016, while men received a sum of more than $1,200 million dollars in the same period(Cepeda 2021). Many factors contribute to the gender wage gap in professional sports, one of the most significant is the difference in productivity. In professional sports, the players' salary is a reflection of the income generated by each tournament through the sale of tickets and television rights. According to Christian Jope, data analyst at World Sports Network, the NBA generates about $8.76 billion in revenue annually compared to WNBA’s 60 million(Baker 2020). The main factors that account for the low productivity in women sports is the relatively low ticket price and familiarity. According to Christian Jope, the average ticket price for the NBA is $89 USD compared to the WNBA’s $17.42 USD, average viewership for the NBA 2019 NBA Finals is about 15.14 million compared to WNBA’s 231,000 viewers(Baker 2020). According to Kahn, professor of Economics and Labor Relations in Cornell University, low prize money and ticket price could lower one’s expectation to the game and desire to watch; if the employers of the sport industry embrace a sensitivity to gender equality with matching prizes(this is possible without accounting loss in money as evidenced by the fact that it is already the practice implemented in some tennis tournaments and in other sports), this decision could possibly make a change on how people view female athletes and tournaments(Cepeda 2021).
Media coverage:
Media keeps people informed about various events happening around the world. It’s one of the most significant ways for people to access information. With the help of the media, one could get immense knowledge on various subjects. Therefore, the most effective way for things to gain attention and popularity is through media promotion(French 2013). However, in professional sports, female athletes did not receive equal, or even close coverage compared to male athletes, despite the fact that women actively participate in sports. According to Cheryl Cooky, a professor of interdisciplinary studies at Purdue University, coverage of women athletes on televised news and highlight shows, including ESPN's SportsCenter, totaled only 5.4% of all airtime, “a negligible change from the 5% observed in 1989 and 5.1% in 1993; the total drops to 3.5% if coverage of the 2019 Women's World Cup is removed.”(McCarter 2021). Women's sport coverage in print media is also nothing better. According to Simone French, Professor of Phycology in University of Minnesota, female athletes only received 6.1 per cent of coverage in newspapers or magazines compared with male athletes, who received 73.6 per cent; articles related to female athletes/sports had an average length of 432 words compared with 461 words for articles related to male athletes/sports. Even when women's sports were being promoted or reported, they were not located in prominent positions as male articles do. According to French, male articles were more likely to be located in prominent positions within the newspapers: of the 75 sports newspapers she examined, female articles were on the front page for 1 times compared to 74 times for male(French 2013). With such low coverage in the media, it is extremely difficult for women's sports to gain a large fanbase and recognition. According to Jane Stadler, Honorary Associate Professor in School of Communication and Arts, many people still fail to relate women to sports due to old prejudice and the media's lack of promotion(French 2013). Low media coverage also leads to low endorsement. Sue Bird, a professional basketball player in the WNBA, states “I think people look at men’s sports and immediately see potential, even if it doesn’t exist. But they’re willing to invest in the potential, whereas we are never — we haven’t been invested in our potential.” Clearly, with such low media coverage, women athletes are lacking the opportunity to gain recognition for themselves(Ariail 2021).
Solution:
According to Rick Eckstein, Ph.D. Professor of Sociology & Criminology in University of Villanova, consumer preferences could be modified through greater coverage of women's sports by the public and private media, including more hours of broadcast in the media and better positioning in time slots(Cepeda 2013). This is evidenced by the success of the Chinese female volleyball team. After the team captured the gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics, the Chinese media put in a great amount of effort to promote their achievements. Various news reports were posted in Chinese news media such as Renming news and CCTV news(Jing 2009). Furthermore, the movie “Leap” was filmed in 2020. The film follows the struggles of China’s National Women’s Volleyball Team over 40 years and eventually winning the gold medal. The movie was a huge success and gained a box office of 126 million USD(Kong 2020). It is a symbol that women volleyball was accepted by society and has gained huge support from the Chinese people. According to Ya Jing, professor at NanChang University, the average salary of female volleyball players is about 171,428 USD compared to 100,000 USD for men, who achieved very little in both national and international tournaments(Jing 2009). Clearly, injustice in women's sports could be addressed through higher media coverage. This doesn’t mean we should equalize media coverage among genders all of a sudden. Instead, it will be a step by step process. Women who achieved high honors in major tournaments such as olympics should be promoted first to give them the opportunity to fulfill their full potential. As more and more women athletes' achievements are known, people will start accepting women's sports and pay more attention to it.
Women have historically faced many barriers in the workplace that are linked to gender inequality. A huge wage gap between genders is widespread among professional sports. Female athletes are consistently paid less than their male counterparts. According to Simone French, Professor of Phycology at the University of Minnesota, male athletes in basketball, golf, soccer, baseball, and tennis made anywhere from 15 percent to 100 percent more than female athletes. The issue regarding gender inequality has been a huge problem for years, dating back to 1920, where women were given the opportunity to enter the workforce(French 2013). In order to address this inequality in the workforce, legislation was passed, hoping to eliminate the wage gap among genders. In 1963, the Equal Pay Act was passed by Congress and signed by president Kennedy, which prohibits gender-based wage discrimination in the United Staes(Equal Pay Act 2017). While born of good intentions, the Act falls drastically short of its intended goal. According to Nicole Zerunyan, professor of law at Loyola University, “Its[Equal Pay Act] restrictive language—specifically, its “same establishment” requirement—excludes separately owned teams. As most men’s and women’s professional sports teams are separately owned, their players are effectively barred from bringing wage-discrimination claims”(Zerunyan, Nicole 2019). Despite the limit of the equal pay act, equal pay among genders, especially in sports, is impossible under current conditions because women's sports doesn’t generate as much money as that of men. Thus, many argue that the gender wage gap is, in fact, fair. However, on another perspective, low media coverage, which results in a small fanbase, is a very significant factor that led to the low productivity of women's sports. With equal media coverage and good commercial and advertising, women's sport will attract more attention and gain a larger fanbase. This could significantly increase the productivity of women's sports, ultimately decreasing the wage gap between male and female athletes.
Wage gap and productivity:
A gender wage gap is especially prevalent in professional sports, an industry that was historically dominated by men. In most sports where women have the opportunity to participate professionally, unequal pay is the norm. According to John Walters, president and CEO of Hudson Institute, fifty-two National Basketball Association (NBA) players were each paid more individually than all of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players’ salaries combined(Zerunyan 2019). The prize values for sports tournaments are also very different between male and females. According to the women's sports foundation, “the women's national football team of the USA received $2million for winning the Women's World Cup in 2015 while the men's team, which finished in 11th place, gained 9 million dollars”(Cepeda 2021). According to Isabel Cepeda, a former professional tennis player, in tennis, women obtained a little more than 500 million dollars from 2010 to 2016, while men received a sum of more than $1,200 million dollars in the same period(Cepeda 2021). Many factors contribute to the gender wage gap in professional sports, one of the most significant is the difference in productivity. In professional sports, the players' salary is a reflection of the income generated by each tournament through the sale of tickets and television rights. According to Christian Jope, data analyst at World Sports Network, the NBA generates about $8.76 billion in revenue annually compared to WNBA’s 60 million(Baker 2020). The main factors that account for the low productivity in women sports is the relatively low ticket price and familiarity. According to Christian Jope, the average ticket price for the NBA is $89 USD compared to the WNBA’s $17.42 USD, average viewership for the NBA 2019 NBA Finals is about 15.14 million compared to WNBA’s 231,000 viewers(Baker 2020). According to Kahn, professor of Economics and Labor Relations in Cornell University, low prize money and ticket price could lower one’s expectation to the game and desire to watch; if the employers of the sport industry embrace a sensitivity to gender equality with matching prizes(this is possible without accounting loss in money as evidenced by the fact that it is already the practice implemented in some tennis tournaments and in other sports), this decision could possibly make a change on how people view female athletes and tournaments(Cepeda 2021).
Media coverage:
Media keeps people informed about various events happening around the world. It’s one of the most significant ways for people to access information. With the help of the media, one could get immense knowledge on various subjects. Therefore, the most effective way for things to gain attention and popularity is through media promotion(French 2013). However, in professional sports, female athletes did not receive equal, or even close coverage compared to male athletes, despite the fact that women actively participate in sports. According to Cheryl Cooky, a professor of interdisciplinary studies at Purdue University, coverage of women athletes on televised news and highlight shows, including ESPN's SportsCenter, totaled only 5.4% of all airtime, “a negligible change from the 5% observed in 1989 and 5.1% in 1993; the total drops to 3.5% if coverage of the 2019 Women's World Cup is removed.”(McCarter 2021). Women's sport coverage in print media is also nothing better. According to Simone French, Professor of Phycology in University of Minnesota, female athletes only received 6.1 per cent of coverage in newspapers or magazines compared with male athletes, who received 73.6 per cent; articles related to female athletes/sports had an average length of 432 words compared with 461 words for articles related to male athletes/sports. Even when women's sports were being promoted or reported, they were not located in prominent positions as male articles do. According to French, male articles were more likely to be located in prominent positions within the newspapers: of the 75 sports newspapers she examined, female articles were on the front page for 1 times compared to 74 times for male(French 2013). With such low coverage in the media, it is extremely difficult for women's sports to gain a large fanbase and recognition. According to Jane Stadler, Honorary Associate Professor in School of Communication and Arts, many people still fail to relate women to sports due to old prejudice and the media's lack of promotion(French 2013). Low media coverage also leads to low endorsement. Sue Bird, a professional basketball player in the WNBA, states “I think people look at men’s sports and immediately see potential, even if it doesn’t exist. But they’re willing to invest in the potential, whereas we are never — we haven’t been invested in our potential.” Clearly, with such low media coverage, women athletes are lacking the opportunity to gain recognition for themselves(Ariail 2021).
Solution:
According to Rick Eckstein, Ph.D. Professor of Sociology & Criminology in University of Villanova, consumer preferences could be modified through greater coverage of women's sports by the public and private media, including more hours of broadcast in the media and better positioning in time slots(Cepeda 2013). This is evidenced by the success of the Chinese female volleyball team. After the team captured the gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics, the Chinese media put in a great amount of effort to promote their achievements. Various news reports were posted in Chinese news media such as Renming news and CCTV news(Jing 2009). Furthermore, the movie “Leap” was filmed in 2020. The film follows the struggles of China’s National Women’s Volleyball Team over 40 years and eventually winning the gold medal. The movie was a huge success and gained a box office of 126 million USD(Kong 2020). It is a symbol that women volleyball was accepted by society and has gained huge support from the Chinese people. According to Ya Jing, professor at NanChang University, the average salary of female volleyball players is about 171,428 USD compared to 100,000 USD for men, who achieved very little in both national and international tournaments(Jing 2009). Clearly, injustice in women's sports could be addressed through higher media coverage. This doesn’t mean we should equalize media coverage among genders all of a sudden. Instead, it will be a step by step process. Women who achieved high honors in major tournaments such as olympics should be promoted first to give them the opportunity to fulfill their full potential. As more and more women athletes' achievements are known, people will start accepting women's sports and pay more attention to it.