By Johnny Cowdrick and Andrew Fearey

Summary of Issues:

The main issue that women face in sports is the significant gender differences in pay that male and female athletes receive. Information and data from Taylor Gerch’s article are depicted in our infographic below. These large differences are rooted in discrepancies within the media gap as women’s sports are often neglected on a national stage, as well as certain verbiage in the Equal Pay Act that prevent women in sports from receiving the benefits that they deserve. The disadvantages that women are at in sports is also related to the lack of opportunity women are given in respect to job opportunities and sponsorship deals.

Policy Recommendations:

In order to create equality, policy changes need to be made. As male professional sport leagues have much more funding they have the ability to help support female leagues as well. For example, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Women’s Association (WNBA) pay their players a considerable difference. The average salary from the NBA is more than one hundred times larger than the average of the WNBA. Policies such as salary restrictions and revenue sharing rules could be introduced to ensure a more equal distribution of funds among leagues. As Nicole Zerunyan presents in her research as well, changes to the Equal Pay Act such as eliminating the “same establishment” requirement and adding a sports specific clause could go a long way as well.

Consequences Without Intervention:

If we continue to neglect the issue of equal pay for female athletes, the pay disparities and overall respect for the athletes will continue to dwindle. It is very common for these female athletes to acquire a second job outside of their respective leagues as a way to pay their bills and support themselves. Without active change and salary reconsideration, women will begin to part ways with female professional leagues as the time commitment may not necessarily be worth it. If this pattern continues and women are not able to justify their involvement in sports, the gender differences will become even larger.

Research Questions:

  • How have women in professional sports created awareness regarding the attention to their ongoing injustice?
  • How can male professional leagues help support the funding and activate change for female athletes?

Personal Impact of These Issues:

These issues have impacted me on a personal level as I have been able to better understand my sister’s career as a collegiate athlete. The way both professional media and universities dedicate more time and attention to men’s sports makes it difficult for women to have opportunities in the sports world. I am also now more aware of the sports media I am consuming and how I can be a better fan by supporting women’s sports.

What We Learned:

We learned the true impacts of the gender inequalities that are present in our sports world. The sports world needs to develop a common middle ground for the benefits of both the leagues and the athletes. Players need to be represented correctly in comparison to those of the male counterparts while the leagues are also able to make a profit. This has opened my mind to a better understanding of how significantly businesses revolve around money, and how the problems women face in sports and other professional domains are institutionalized in all facets of business.

Infographic:

Sources:

Baker, E. (2020). A Comparison of NBA and WNBA Player Salaries. Kennesaw State University.

​​Gersch, Taylor (2021). The Gender Pay Gap: Seeking Fairness for Women in Professional Sports. Oregon Review of International Law, 22, 147-196.

Zerunyan, Nicole (2017). Time’s up: addressing gender-based wage discrimination in professional sports. Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review, 38(3), 229-258.