The Role Of Unequal Feminism In Sports

To admit or to label oneself as a feminist is to accept a whirlwind of judgment from those around you. It is without a doubt that the word “Feminism” or “Feminist” turns heads, and not necessarily for the right reasons. Many have resorted to mocking, disagreeing, and/or hating Feminism without even having a good grasp of what it is. The stigmas that feminists face are that they are radical, extremist, liberal, lesbians who hate men, refuse to shave and enjoy burning bras (Lee).Conversely, feminists are principally advocates for social justice and equality as well as aim for the establishment of equally divided power between the sexes. It is obvious that many are unaware of and uneducated on the misogynistic injustices plaguing our world and the toxic environment we all live in- both women and men. Feminism is a positive concept that works to eliminate injustices between both sexes and to establish the value of women, thus should be treated as such a concept instead of being a forbidden idea.

The gender wage gap in America is a social problem that has existed since women entered the workforce. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, for every dollar earned by a man, a woman made 78.3 cents in 2013 (Leon-Guerrero, 2016). Data from 1983 to 1998 and concluded that women workers in their prime earning years make 38% of what men make. During the 15-year period, an average prime-age working woman earned only $273,592 compared with $722,693 earned by the average working man in 1999 (Leon-Guerrero, 2016). The wage gap affects women of color in a more profound way that it does non-hispanic white women. Hispanic women are making 53%, African American women are making 64%, and Asian American women are making 87% of white men’s earnings each year (AAUW, 2013).

“Join the union, girls, and together say Equal Pay for Equal Work” -Susan B. Anthony. Countless women, even here in the U.S. have some sort of the wage gap. The wage gap is the difference between the median earnings of women relative to median earnings of men. In this case, women earn a significant amount less than men. Although the wage gap has gotten smaller over the years, the wage gap still has a long way to go. Women deserve better than just minimum earnings. Full time, working women should obtain the best promotions and benefits. Women that work just as tough and have the equivalent qualifications as men do still earn less, and that is just unacceptable. The wage gap should be abolished on behalf of women of color and their struggle, equal pay is a global problem, equal pay benefits employers and workers, and the wage gap accumulates over time.

How is it fair that a men’s college basketball team is able to be transported on planes and dine on steak, while a women’s team from the same college, travels in a van and eats fast food? It’s not, but this occurs often nowadays even with laws passed preventing this type of discrimination. In 1972, Congress passed Title IX, which prohibits discrimination against girls and women in federally funded education, including athletic programs (Kiernan 3). Many schools and colleges have not been able to comply with the Title IX standards mostly because of money. Some of the problems in high schools and colleges consist of insufficient scholarships for girls, not enough coaching jobs, a lack of equipment, and a limited amount of supplies. Not only

2015. There is a pay gap in America where men are paid more than women even if they have the same job and have the same qualifications. On average, a woman earns 74 cents to every man’s dollar. When someone first graduate’s college and is new to the workforce, the gap as low. The gap grows as you move up the job ladder. Only 5% of the fortune 500 companies have CEO’s that are women. Even when women advance to this level, they are still not being paid the same as their male counterparts. Minority women have an even bigger pay gap. African-American women get paid on average about 64 cents for every man’s dollar, while Hispanic women only bring home around 54 cents for every man’s dollar. There is no industry or state where women earn the same or more than

The wage gap is a worldwide problem. In 2014, it was recorded than on average women earned 78 cents to every dollar than a man earns (Hill, Catherine). If women want to earn the same as men, they have to work extra days. Women would have to work approximately 6o extra days a year to receive the same paycheck ("Pay Equity & Discrimination.”). The pay gap is even worse for women of color. African American women receive approximately 64% of what a man earns (“Women Deserve Equal Pay."). Latinas earn about 55% of what men earn ("Women Deserve Equal Pay.").

On average, women are payed 18% less than that of a man. This means that if two people are doing the same job at the same success rate, but one was a man, he could be payed anywhere from 35%-7% more than the woman. That’s almost $300 a week, if not more! The wage gap since 2014 has actually increased so now there needs to be even more exertion to try to close the gap. Not very surprisingly, women are over represented in low paying jobs and very underrepresented in the higher paying jobs. Disappointingly however, even in the higher paying jobs they are not being paid nearly as much as their male counterparts. This needs to be changed, there should be laws in place to make sure that all genders are paid equally, or at least a range that the workers pay has to stay

Feminism is a word with a wide variety of connotations. For some it brings to mind images of strong, influential women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony—women who changed the face of American politics for women. To some it is just another word, but to far too many, feminism is a hated word and therefore a hated cause. It stands for man-hating, excuse-making, manly women who play the victim to gain advantage over men. This negative image of a movement intended to fight for equality prevents both men and women from receiving the benefits moving the cause forward would reap. If people made feminism what it was intended to be then men and women would be empowered to rise above gender stereotypes.

A man versus a woman, the “Battle of the Sexes”, it was a match that viewers tuned into everywhere. There was so much doubt expressed that a woman, Billie Jean King, could beat her opponent, Bobby Riggs in a tennis match. Against all odds, Billie Jean King was crowned with the victory. This legendary moment in history was important for the sport of tennis, but also the little girls everywhere that were not allowed to participate in athletics like their male peers. In light of “Title IX”, an amendment that promoted equality and the prohibition of gender and race discrimination in any school or Federal-funded sport or activity, Billie Jean King became the face of feminism and gender equality, and can be accredited for her contributions to the advancements for not just women athletes, but all women.

According to the Dictionary of Merriam-Webster, feminism is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. That being said, feminism is meant to encourage and construct equal opportunities for both men and women without any bias of their gender. This includes but is not limited to opportunities in education as well as in payments and positions held in the work force. Socially, feminists are considered to be advocates of an equal partnership model, meaning that “social relations are primarily based on the principle of linking rather than ranking... In this model—beginning with the most fundamental difference in our species, between male and female—diversity is not equated with either inferiority or superiority"(Eisler xvii). That being said, if we were to envision a world where each individual were a true feminist (based on the word’s true definition), both sexes would ultimately be treated fairly. With this concept in mind, wouldn’t it make sense for both men and women to support the genuine idea of feminism and what it stands for? Unfortunately, an incredible amount of American men and women today still claim that they are not feminists. One of the main problems influencing individuals to deny being a feminist is his/her lack of education on the word and what it truly means to be a feminist individual in America. I discuss misconceptions of the word “Feminism” that are ultimately flooding our society in ways that only give off negative, derogatory

When people think of the words “feminist” or “feminism” it sometimes open the doors to a scrutinizing debate. People will go back and forth on their opinions of this delicate topic causing some people to change their minds where as others will just add more fuel to their own fire by making their beliefs even stronger for the next time they wish to defend their thoughts and ideas. Those people who stand by their strong supportive thoughts, ideas, and beliefs on the topic of feminism are known as a feminist’s. These feminists are strong believers for gender equality but most importantly empowering and celebrating women. Feminism dates as far back as to the 20th and 21st century when women were seen as inferior beings to the male population.

For centuries, women were told they had to stay at home and tend to the cooking, the cleaning, and raise the children, while the men provided for the family. Before the 1920’s, women could not work. They were expected to be housewives and that only. Once legislation allowed women to start working, they were seamstresses, or nurses. Today, women are working in the same careers as men. Women, however, are seen as being less valuable than the man. The man is in charge; he holds all the power, and women must obey to their commands. And the men are the ones making a larger income than the women today. Even though women are working at the same workplace, they are being paid less than that of a white man. The gender pay gap is real. It is not a myth like some people say. Women are working just as hard as men. Why should they be paid less? The gender pay gap needs to come to a close, providing equal pay to not both sexes, but all race sexes as well.

The gender wage gap is still present today and is increasing slightly, even outside of the United States. On average “Women, on an average, are paid only 78 cents compared to the male's dollar” (Hardwick). Women are paid less than men are by an average of 22 cents. Women who put in the same amount of effort as men get paid less for the work that they are doing. The wage gap has increased "slightly" from 12 per cent in 2006 to 12.6 per cent last year” (The Canadian Broadcasting Company). The gap has increased despite efforts to stop it. The wage gap does not just exist in the United States, by also in other places around the world. According to an article in The Washington Post called “Can We Talk About the Gender pay Gap?”, “for physicians and surgeons: men earn $84.60 an hour, women $58.24” (Xaquin G.V). Women are still paid less even in high earning jobs. The work contributed by women is the same as men, but they are paid less. The gender wage gap exists around the world and in higher paying jobs as well.

Today we still pay so much attention of the equality between women and men. It’s still a very hot topic around us in our today’s society. However, when we talk about it right now, we more care about if women and men have the same equal right. For example, if they enjoy the equal protection in the working environment, in terms of the working hours or of their salaries. From the official website of American Association of University Women (AAUW), “In 2014, women working full time in the United States typically were paid just 79 percent of what men were paid, a gap of 21 percent”. Using the formula, pay gap=(men’s median earnings-women’s median earnings)/men’s median earnings .In 2014, median annual earnings in the Untied States women and men working full time, year round were $39,621 and $50,383, respectively. 2014 earnings ratio=$39,621/$50,383=79%. 2014 pay gap= (50,383-$39,621)/$50,383=21%. So the earnings differentials between men and women mean that there is a wage gap. The wage gap is a statistical indicator often used as an index of the status of women’s earnings relative to men’s.

I never really understood the term “feminism”. I will admit at first, I was very hesitant to identify as a feminist and that was due to the negative view the media put on it. I believed it to be an anti-men movement made by females. In all seriousness I would laugh at people who identified as one, I often thought how can you hate men? How can you think one gender is superior to another? and how can you think creating issues out of non-issues will solve all of your problems? As a society, we need to bring awareness to the uncomfortableness of the term feminism and why it is now being used as a synonym to “man-hating”. According to Bustle “82% of both genders say they do believe that men and women should be social, political, and economic