Female Athletes Should Be Paid Essay

In today's society women are able to become anything they wish. Generations ago women did not have the privilege to become what they truly desired compared to the women of today. Although women can become anything they desire, they cannot succeed financially. Women are still underpaid in many areas, especially in Pro Sports. The disparity in pay for women compared men's pro sports is absurd. Female athletes have also seen greater success in sports as well and have been belittled and condemned of the rewards they rightfully deserve for the achievements in their sports. It is simple, gender should not define pay in pro sports, especially if they both have equal to or greater success in their respected sports.

People all over America and the world are consumed with watching athletes perform in their various sports. Both male and female athletes compete at such incredible levels that require physical talent and drive. Professional athletes are known to get paid salaries that reflect their talent and abilities. Regardless of gender, professional athletes are drafted to receive professional pay. However, equal pay for male and female athletes with the same credentials does not occur today. There is a belief that male athletes are worth more than female athletes and are better at promoting themselves. Also, women salaries are lower because of their gender and are not

They are not given the same amount of support to pursue an athletic career as men. Moreover, according to Kelsey Clark she has stated in her blog that “The very highest paid female soccer athletes, including the United States’ Alex Morgan, make only around a half million playing soccer. The highest paid men, in contrast, can earn more than $50 million for their salary and other winnings”. This demonstrates that women athletes are being paid low which is not fair at all and women are back off they are not treated equally as they deserve more than what they get and have more talent but it 's hidden because of the inequality.

“Equal play. Equal pay.” –U.S. Women’s National Team (Reiher). The gender pay gap is surprisingly still a large problem today. Not only in soccer, but in every sport women exert the most effort, yet they do not receive the credit. The U.S. Woman’s National Team should receive an equal amount of pay as the men’s team because they have won more titles, they are better soccer players, and they bring in more income.

Traditionally men have dominated the world of sports however in recent year’s women’s sports have become popular and with their new found popularity, women’s sports have evolved into marketable leagues of their own. Although women’s sports took a huge leap forward, women players still don’t receive the same financial compensation for playing the same sports in the same arenas as their male counterparts. In Purse Snatching by Donna Lopiano, she points out sexism may have a huge effect on this financial discrepancy between women and men athletes. Analyzing sports economics may point to a different reason why women are receiving such a compensation disparity.

Many women professional basketball players work hard, are dedicated, and have a genuine love for the game; however, many of them are very underpaid when compared to the men professional basketball players. The difference between what men and women are paid for the same job is referred to as the gender wage gap. In the United States that gap is 78 cents, so a woman is paid 78 cents for every dollar paid to a man doing the same work. Lynx player Maya Moore said, "We’re not super rich like the guys … but money’s not everything when you’re talking about dynasties and legacies, and inspiring young women and men, and opening people’s minds." Obviously, they do not play for the money, they play because they love the game of basketball. The women basketball players work really hard and inspire more people everyday. They should be awarded and paid the equal amount just as any male basketball player.

“An average WNBA athlete makes an average of 72,000 dollars a year.”("Gender, 2014”) That’s no money compared to what an NBA athlete makes a year. Popularity can be a big factor in the athletes pay for the women because less people attend a women’s game and they can’t really afford to pay the women. Is gender really a factor in this situation or is it popularity? “The WNBA itself makes on average one million dollars a year.” ("Gender, 2014”) What is the difference between a female athlete and a male athlete? The difference is popularity. More people attend a NBA game then a WNBA, so therefore more money will be

Yes, it does depend on how well you do your job and how long you have been doing it, but it should not be based on gender. In the article “Pay Equity & Discrimination” it states, “ Women continue to earn considerably less than men. Female full-time, year-round workers made only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 20 percent.” This shows that men are paid more than women in a lot of jobs, including basketball. Basketball is the largest difference in pay that I have ever seen. Basketball has two leagues, the WNBA and NBA. NBA is the National Basketball Association, and the WNBA is the Women's National Basketball Association. This divides women and men’s teams, and who they play. Overall, they are playing the same sport, so they deserve to be paid the same. Another example is stated in the article “Difference Between Men’s and Women’s Basketball” by Steve Silverman when it says, “ There are quite a few differences between men's and women's basketball, many of which have to do with the rules. They also include the style of play as well as its overall popularity. ” Basically they are basing the pay off of gender. The style of play might not be the same, but this should not have to do with how they pay. So paying them off of the style between the men and women is how it should be decided? I don't think that it is a good idea to have the pay this way because it could get people upset with the league, and the

The ladies are just as entertaining and competitive as the men in the NBA, but why aren’t they being seen and not getting paid as much. In 1973, the famous Title IX act was passed. This prohibited discrimination in school programs receiving federal funds. That meant girls had to be considered for those slots in law schools, medical schools, and engineering classes that led to the better paying jobs. It also meant girls’ sports should get a fair share of funding. It was no longer legal for schools to field six

The US women’s soccer team are only paid about a fourth of what the men are paid, even though they actually preform at a level well above that of the men’s, and create more income for the corporation; In fact, the women’s soccer team made approximately $20 million more money in revenue than the men’s soccer team ("U.S. Women's Team Files Wage-discrimination Action vs. U.S. Soccer"). Another instance of the men’s team earning more money than the women’s team unfairly is that the women were only paid $2 million dollars total when they won the world cup in 2015, while the men’s team (who got to round 16 before they lost) were paid a total of $9 million dollars ("U.S. Women's Team Files Wage-discrimination Action vs. U.S. Soccer"). That means that the women’s team was paid approximately 22% of what the men’s team was being paid, creating a wage gap that is even larger than what the one from the 1960’s. If you go by the logic of paying someone based on the worker’s effort and skill, as it is stated in the Equal Pay Act, than the women’s team should be paid significantly more than the men’s team, not the other way

The gender wage gap in professional sports is much higher than most people think and it’s not going to end anytime soon. Women make half of what the Men make, if not less.     In the NBA, the average salary is $4,500,000.00 and in the WNBA the average salary is $72,000.00. In the professional basketball aspect, WNBA players earn 4,428,000.00 less, or not even 2 percent of what NBA players earn. In the 2014-15 NBA season, the highest paid athlete, Kobe Bryant, made $23,500,000.00 and in 2013, the highest paid WNBA player was only paid 107,000.00, but that salary can only be reached after so many years of playing in the league (a-look-at).

Women’s equality is an issue that has been around for awhile. While women have been given many rights to increase equality, including the right to vote and go to college, the problem hasn’t completely vanished. One area that still sees this is in sports. Women’s sports do not draw nearly as many fans and are not covered in the media as much as men’s sports, pay differences between male and female athletes are large, and female athletes have to wait longer to start their professional career than men, which risks their professional career before it even starts.

The U.S. women’s soccer team filed a complaint against U.S. Soccer for wage discrimination, claiming they make roughly 40% of what their male counterparts do. This is only the beginning of a trend in wage disparity in the Major Soccer League. The National Women’s Soccer League, or NWSL, has a pay ceiling per player of just $37,800. The men in Major League Soccer make an average of more than $300,000 with a median of about $100,000. The teams in the NWSL have a salary cap of $265,000, but for the men it is more than $3 million. The extremity of the wage gap is clearly depicted in CNN Money, the report states that the “amounts female American players receiving equate to less than 6 cents for every $1 earned by the German men”. The US women’s

One may argue that women do no not play as much as men in matches, therefore they shouldn’t be earning as much. For example, women in professional tennis generally play less than their male counterparts; this is especially true in the Grand Slams because women only have to play best two out of three sets to win a match whereas the men have to play best three out of five sets in order to progress

How are women valued in sports? This paper will argue systems, oppression and power against women in sports and in society and will talk about the system of sports and the discrimination against women in society. It will include the question how are women valued in sports and how it plays a big role in society today? In sports, women make less money than men. This has a great deal to do with race, gender, and ableism against women. Basketball is a sport where women make significantly less money than men. Blackenterprise source states, “The salary cap for a WNBA team doesn’t even reach the $1 million mark. It sits at $878,000. The NBA’s is $58 million. On top of that, you don’t have to be a genius to see that not as many people are buying tickets to WNBA games or buying as much merchandise. Many WNBA teams struggle to break even (M Garland, 2012).” This is an incredibly a huge gap in professional basketball.