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The Gender Pay Gap

Why don’t we ever see women’s professional sports on the news? Why are men’s professional sports all over the news? Although male and female athletes compete in the same profession, female athletes are paid a fraction of what men make. Why is that? Men are more privileged than women in sports because they are paid more. The amount of money female athletes make is a fraction of what male athletes make.

Women make up nearly half of the workforce. But they earn considerably less than men. “ In 2016, female, full-time, year-round workers made only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender gap of 20 percent. Men are paid more than women because of their gender. The gender pay gap in sports reflects the gap in the overall workplace. According to Business Insider, “Female athletes are still making 30% less than male athletes.” The maximum salary for WNBA players is $109,500. In contrast, the minimum salary for a NBA player is $525,093 -- and the median salary is $2.5 million per year. Sixteen NBA players make $25 million or more per year -- 3 make more than $30 million a year. This proves that male athletes have more privilege when it comes to getting paid in sports.

It is often argued that women’s professional sports do not get the attention or support to pay their players like men’s teams. According to Business insider, “The lack of attendance and sponsorships contribute to a chicken or the egg problem when it comes to getting womens sports off the ground.” Many people think that this why women professional athletes are not paid like men. However, why are these women not getting the attention like the men's teams? Is it simply because women are not as good as men in sports? Are their competitions less exciting? The 2018 NCAA Women’s Final Four games should serve as an example. Both semifinal games went to overtime and the national champion, the University of Notre Dame, won both of its games on buzzer-beating shots delivered by junior guard Arike Ogunbowale. These women's games are very exciting and fun to watch. They should be getting millions of dollars like the men's league.

Other’s say, that women’s sport do attract attention and many people watch their games. According to the NCAA, “The 2018 Division I women’s basketball tournament attracted 252,110 fans, an increase of more than 25,000 from the previous year and marking the highest combined total attendance since 2004 and 10th-highest combined attendance in tournament history. The four regional sites hosted 50,848 fans, a 35 percent increase from the 2017 tournament. The national championship game between Notre Dame and Mississippi State peaked at a 3.0 overnight rating, as Ogunbowale hit the game-winning shot. The championship game averaged a total of 3.5 million viewers across television and digital. The semifinal overnight ratings peaked at 1.6 for the Louisville vs. Mississippi State semifinal (with an estimated average 1.52 million viewers) and 2.1 for the UConn vs. Notre Dame game, averaging a live audience of 2.31 million. Overall with digital streaming, the semifinals averaged 1.9 million viewers.” These numbers show that our society is paying more attention to women’s sports. We are these players not getting paid like men if they are getting a lot of attention? It is because men are more privileged than women in sports.   But we should be giving women respect and supporting them to make better teams and leagues where players are paid much better. They should be getting more money sponsorship so they can earn money like the male athletes.

Isn’t it unfair for men to get paid more than women for playing the same game/doing the same job? NBA players are getting paid millions -- in some case, tens of millions -- of dollars more than WNBA players. Not just in sports, but in other jobs women are always making less than men. Is your income based on your gender? The gender pay gap is a big issue in our country.

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Men are more privileged than Women in sports because they are paid more and the amount of money female athletes make is a fraction of what male athletes make.

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In the news program above it explains the struggle of professional Women soccer players. Some players have to work another to be able to support themselves. The highest paid Women's player make about $400,000 dollars a year. The highest paid male soccer makes $52 million a year. Also, the country that wins the women's world cup wins $15 million compared to the men's $576 million. That's a big difference. This supports my thesis than Men professional athletes are paid more than Women athletes. It also supports my claim because all male professional athletes are  privileged and don't have to work another job to support themselves.

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“79 Cents” by Owen Pallenberg:

A woman makes on average 79 cents to the man’s buck,

So the woman makes less because of her chromosome’s luck.

This problem in our nation needs to end,

Because yes, a woman makes less...I know it’s hard to comprehend.

Minimum wage in California is $10.50 for a man,

More like $8.92 for a woman, making it hard to create a viable financial plan.

People claim that this gap is just a myth,

But it’s a proven fact that they’re losing out on more than one fifth.

The gap just gets worse for married women, women of color, and even mothers,

Ridiculous, I know. Shouldn’t we all get paid the same as one another?

Why are women blamed for things they can’t control,

Once men and women are equal, we will finally reach our ultimate goal.

Just take a look at the US Women’s National Soccer Team,

They earn about 25% of what the men make, which is really quite extreme,

Even though the women generate more revenue and won the World Cup,

They get paid much less to lace them up.

Black women make 63 cents to the man’s buck,

And Latina women earn only 54 cents, so I guess they’re just out of luck.

Deniers of these stats are obviously citing the alternative facts,

Because it is quite clear that women receive a sales, property, income, and “woman” tax.

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In this poem by Owen Pallenberg, he writes about the gender pay gap. He writes about how the US women's national team make 25% of what the Men makes. He also proves a good point that the Women's team won the world cup and has made a lot of money for the US soccer federation. This supports my thesis because it proves that Women teams are making less than Men's team in the same sport. He also writes about how women not just in sports are paid less which is a big issue. Men and Women should be paid the same in sports and regular jobs.

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1.) “Pay Equity & Discrimination.” Institute for Women's Policy Research, iwpr.org/issue/employment-education-economic-change/pay-equity-discrimination/.
2.) Basconi, Stella. “Why Some Women In Sports Are Paid Less Than Men.” Sportingz, 6 Sept. 2017, www.sportingz.com/soccer/women-sports-paid-95-less-men/.
3.) Ferro, Shane. “Here's Why It's Fair That Female Athletes Make Less than Men.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 7 July 2015, www.businessinsider.com/womens-small-soccer-salaries-are-fair-2015-7.
4.) Groskop, Viv. “Why Don't Women Earn More? Clue: It's Not All about Men | Viv Groskop.”The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 31 July 2017, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/31/why-dont-women-earn-more-men-bbc-pay-gap-row.
5.) Littlefield, Bill. “No Matter The Sport, Women Athletes Are Always Paid Less.” No Matter The Sport, Women Athletes Are Always Paid Less | Only A Game, www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2016/04/16/pay-gap-female-sports.