Gender Disparity In Soccer

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.

Soccer is a sport that many know and love. It has been globalized through the ages, and has brought many people enjoyment by watching, and playing the sport. While soccer has brought many people from around the world together, it has also driven a wedge between males and females in society. This sport is controversial for many reasons. It brings about controversy because of the fact that some people can clearly identify the separation of equitable treatment between the genders, while others are oblivious to this idea. Many people from around the world have joined in on this topic. This not only shows the connection of globalization to the gender inequalities, but it shows the link between

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

“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.

Lopiano complains that there’s too much of a salaries gap between man and women playing the same sports. “The right to play has been established. However, the issue that has been confronted is the barrier to being treated equally when it comes to money” (Lopiano 1). Most people will say women’s tennis matches are more exciting than men’s matches; men’s victory purses are still considerably higher than women’s victory purses. Top women tennis players earned 59 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. The average total purse was $63,031,000.00 for top men players and $41,000,000.00 for top women players (Daniel Frankl 2). In soccer, the Women’s World Cup soccer team was promised $12,500 if they won compared to the $300,000 male players were to receive. The payout for women players was increased to $50,000 because fans protested the unfair payout gap between the male and female players (Lopiano 1); it’s still 1/6 the payout

When it comes to sports men and women are rarely given equal opportunities to excel. This is the case in soccer specifically, as many individuals over look women’s soccer. Women are having to play on turf fields which is causing more injuries compared to men playing on natural grass. Men also make more money per match and they receive money if they lose, whereas the women do not receive any money if they lose a match. While women are becoming more successful, the men’s team has been around longer and bring in more media coverage and endorsements for the league. Despite the discrepancies found in media coverage of both teams, the US soccer federation and Federation International Football Association should provide equal opportunities for both men’s and women’s soccer teams.

"Gender Oppression Involving Men's and Women's Sports." : Analysis of a Scholarly Source: Equal Pay? Not on the Basketball Court" by David Woods. N.p., 28 Oct. 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2015. .

From a young age, children are conditioned to always think about what they want to be when they grow up. Many of them dream to be a ballerina, firefighter, or an astronaut. With age comes maturity, and those aspirations pass, but simultaneously new, more realistic ones arise. To reach these new goals, these children work toward their dream through dedication, which can be seen in the studying or training they do. In today’s society females have more opportunity to do what they dream. There are young women who are assiduously working to get a college degree and a steady job. Then, there are also women who are training to become a professional athlete, with the aspiration of becoming a member of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT). In today’s society, women can pursue their goals, however, if compared to men’s sports, there can be differences seen that keep women from reaching full potential, equality, and their dreams.

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

Regardless of skin color, women in general somehow always tend to get the short-end of the stick; but that doesn’t mean that they won’t fight for what they believe in. Recently, there has been much debacle in the world of sports. The Guardian posted an article on how the US Women’s Soccer Team is accusing the US Soccer Federation of wage discrimination. Five members of the team filed a federal complaint stating that they were paid four times less than the males within the past year. In the article, soccer player Megan Rapinoe stated during a press release that, “Recently, it has become clear that the federation has no intention of providing us equal pay for equal work.” Meanwhile, The Guardian also took statements from players Hope Solo and Carli Lloyd as they argued on an NBC show that, “In this day and age, it’s about equality. It’s about equal rights. It’s about equal pay. We’re pushing for that. We believe now the time is right because we believe it’s our responsibility for women’s sports and specifically for women’s soccer to do whatever it takes to push for equal pay and equal rights. And to be treated with respect.” Lloyd then added that, “I think we’ve proven our worth over the years. Just coming off a World Cup win, the pay disparity between the men and women is just too large. We want to continue to fight. The generation of players before us fought. And now it’s our job to keep

According to Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in [the] Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” Because of the establishment of this international document, much progression toward the equality of rights for all with inherited and acquired traits has been achieved over time. In particular, gender equality has made a great deal of headway since the Olympic Games in ancient Greece. Even though this may be the case, there is no doubt that female athletes are far from considered equal as compared to male athletes in modern sports. In today’s sports society, women athletes are still discriminated against based on lower salaries, less media coverage, and lack of opportunity.

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.

By looking at the novel “I know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou, one can see how a young, pregnant African girl struggles with standing out, which is important because young girls are often the Tacky’s . All girls are Tacky’s; were not allowed to vote as a result of men being the leader of the house. Women are being treated with less pay unlike men they have a higher pay right. For instincts the Women’s soccer team is getting paid $15,000 to make the World Cup Roster but the boys team is getting paid $76,000 per player. The USA girls soccer team has made it to the World Cup and won in 2015, when the boys did not.

Play is a source of significant theoretical insight in anthropology and other disciplines (Huizinga 1970; Turner 1982). Feminist research is explicitly directed towards comprehending evolving social factors affecting women. (Harrison and Fahy 2005:702) and also provides a framework for understanding the contribution of women in sports to development (Birrell 2005:61). The research in this proposal is rooted in this idea, and holds that women’s “participation in sports is a feminist issue deserving of research and theory development’’ (Harrison and Fahy 2005:702). Many scholars in the study of sociology of sports use feminist theory to understand power and gender relations (Birrell 2005:61; Coakley 2009:39). According to Smith [2010:98], issues of gender are core to social life and this fact makes the concerns of masculinity and femininity essential. Critical feminist theorists have stressed the importance of critiquing and changing the culture and Pfister and Kristin 2013:208) the body and physicality of sports so that they represent the perspectives and experiences of women as well as men (Maguire 2002:207; Coakley 2001:39). The aim of feminist theory is to expose gender inequalities (Jarvis and Watts 2012:67) and imbalance in terms of ‘’funding, programs, facilities, media coverage of women 's sports’’ (Messner 1988:207) and pay inequalities [Women’s Sports Foundation 2011]. In a related

Growing up I was the first generation of girls to have women role models in sports. For the first time I could watch a person of the same sex compete and succeed. In 1986 I was able to watch the US Women’s Soccer National Team take home the first gold metal in the sport of soccer. I watched these women that had a dream to play and they made their respective dreams come true. In Mia Hamm’s book she talked about how the game of soccer to her was ultimate release and passion for her. Her father allowed her to play with the boys and thought that this competitive spirit that his daughter possessed was harmless and healthy (Mia 45). Little did he know that his daughter would start a revolution that no man saw coming. These “tom boys” who thought that they were the only girls playing sports opened up a whole new field of work, and broke through one of the toughest gender stereotypes known to woman. Success in women’s soccer, and even the development of the professional league, along with new opportunities that arose with title 9,in which colleges were forced to produce an equal number of scholarships for women have contributed to my committed efforts to succeed and play at the highest level. Although, today I can see the result