Fans of the Indiana Fever basketball team and sports fans all over were thrilled when Caitlyn Clark was picked first for the W.N.B.A. draft, until news of her salary came out. Her four-year contract of $338,056 was less than 1% of the N.B.A.’s previous top draft pick, Victor Wembanyama, and his contract of $55 million dollars. Additionally, female athletes in the media aren’t given the same amount of quality airtime as men. Women’s sports and female athletes should be promoted in the same way their male counterparts are since they are both playing professionally and at an incredible level. Women in the sports world are making tremendous progress, and that isn’t recognized when it should be.
The biggest issue between female and male sports is the pay gap. Some female athletes don’t make enough money to support themselves. The difference in team salary between the M.L.B. and the N.P.F. is $227 million to $175,000 respectively, and with the N.B.A. and W.N.B.A. is $37.4 million to $117,500. The majority of female athletes might need an additional job to support themselves, and the difficulty in maintaining two jobs could drive women away from their sports.
Another issue is the coverage of women’s sports. A study has shown the main reason people don’t watch women’s sports as much is their lack of airtime. Purdue University found out that from 1989 to March of 2021, the airtime covering women’s sports increased only from 5% to 5.4%. Additionally, research has shown that most female athletes in the media have had their image either sexualized, or promoted as wives and mothers instead of athletes. If women would get more quality airtime on television, and the media, the quality in sports coverage would be bridged and women might make a better salary.
Some people might make the argument that sports streaming companies and sports teams can’t afford the airtime or the salaries, the argument doesn’t carry any weight when taking a look at history. For example, in the 80s, when Micheal Jordan started playing basketball professionally, his interviews and brand deals elevated the game of basketball to a favorite American pastime. If media companies would take advantage of the fact that perhaps the best female basketball player was walking in our midst, and give the audience the chance to get to know her, people would find themselves wanting to watch, increasing female sports’ airtime.
Inequality between female and male athletes–because of the pay gap and unequal airtime–can be solved with the help of the audiences. The answer is simple. Watch more of women’s sports. Talk about them with your friends. And you can even donate to their leagues. Little girls all over the world are looking up to these women, and one day they’re going to play these sports. It’s our job to make a better environment for them to play in.
Sources
Engle, Jeremy. “What Should Be Done about the Gender Pay Gap in Sports?” The New York Times, 29 Apr. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/04/29/learning/what-should-be-done-about-the-gender-pay-gap-in-sports.html?searchResultPosition=1.
Bubel, Jennifer. “The Disparity in Women’s and Men’s Sports.” Diario AS, 8 Mar. 2023, en.as.com/other_sports/the-disparity-in-womens-and-mens-sports-n/.
Abrams, Olivia. “Why Female Athletes Earn Less than Men across Most Sports.” Forbes, 26 June 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/oliviaabrams/2019/06/23/why-female-athletes-earn-less-than-men-across-most-sports/.
