“Who runs this world?” Girls”. Beyonce sang this worldwide hit song, which demonstrates how strong girls can be. According to Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Gender Pay Gap is: “Is a measure or difference in the average earnings of men and women across organizations or labor markets.” It is expressed at a percent of men’s earning.” (2018) This is an issue that every society is trying to solve, in both the social and economic realms as well as in sports. Gender pay gaps are a problem in all areas of life, including sports. We need to do more than just enact regulations to address this issue. Gender pay gaps are well-known and experienced by all women working in many professions, including athletes.
This issue is well-known to most people all over the globe. Gender equality is making it a pressing issue. Many people, especially women, started fighting for the rights that were due long ago. Equal pay is one of these rights. Women who entered the workforce tried to be equally paid as men since their inception. The hierarchical rules prevented this fight for equality. Today, this gap is shrinking or at least being reduced. “When occupations have a gender segregation, women often get the short end. Occupations dominated by females earn less than those dominated primarily by males and have the same educational and work experience requirements” (Bornstein 2018. This creates an imbalance between the sexes and is not part of the goal of gender equality. This fact is not difficult to see. A businessman determines who receives the higher salary in a company. These regulations also affect women. This aspect of the law is not regulated and cannot be ignored. To make this a worldwide problem, all governments and organisations must work together. Sport is an obvious example. Campbell, 2017. “Professional female athletes have had less opportunities throughout history than their male counterparts.” Forbes in 2017 ranked Cristiano Ronaldo as the highest-paid soccer player. Serena Williams was also ranked 51st. Tiger Woods is in the same ranking regardless of what he does and how long he stays out of the spotlight. Woods, at No. 1, is the highest-earning celebrity athlete. Woods is 15 years old and has an annual income of $78 millions. Maria Sharapova is No. 62, with earnings of $29 million. The magazine’s annual rankings show the contrast. It has no women among its 100 best-paid athletes in 2018. Publicity is crucial because brands that are interested in male athletes will be more likely to find them than female athletes due to their popularity with the public. The gender pay gap is discriminatory, and it affects women regardless of their age.
This is the most notorious area where there is a wage gap. Because soccer is played for both men & women equally, the greatest gap in wages is found. This is something that everyone can see. The amount of money that is paid to a male or female player for the same team is a clear example. According to a T13 report, Neymar Jr. began playing at Paris Saint Germain in 2012 and has a salary amount of 35 billion. A far cry from Christiane Endler’s salary as a member of the same team. Chilean goalkeeper and PSG player, Santiago de Chile, receives $25,000 USD per annum. This is a huge difference. It is not that one soccer player is better than another, but because each has a lot of popularity. This topic was brought up by three-time Women’s World Cup champions, USA women’s football team. The girls won $2 million dollars in the last World Cup for their first place finish. Although it is significant, it is not as much as the 35 million dollar award Germany made in 2014 FIFA World Cup. Statisticians and empirical evidence show that women are less likely to receive payments for sports, particularly soccer.
“Recent research supports that there is still a gender wage gap, regardless of how you slice the data,” (Bornstein 2018). While the wage has decreased in Chile and other countries around world, it is still very high for soccer players. Women aren’t being helped by this government and its regulations. Sports wages are very high. Men are more likely to play popular sports, which means that they receive higher payments. It is important to make gender equality a reality. The solution lies in the hands of the organization, to make a difference for all athletes and promote fair play. It is now that all women are entitled to an equal payment.
Author
