Research Proposal for Senior Project

Advocating Equal Pay in Sports Shouldn’t Be Ludicrous, Especially When the Gender Pay Gap is Getting Out of Hand.

While most Men’s Sports have no problems with their salaries, the Women’s protest their much lower wages to rebalance the system and receive equal pay in their sporting competitions.

(thesis points you wish to answer):

–          How Women’s sports is not less impressive than Men’s.

–          Discrimination towards the Women’s in sports is worth advocating.

–          How do men’s sports bring in more money than women’s?

When the sports industry conquered the world, people and companies with money invested with high expectations of return, which influenced athletes to receive a considerable boost to their income. But the only effects are only visible to the Men’s, presumably because they dominated the entertainment view of sports (DiCaro). In a globally known competition like the World Cup, the Men’s produces much more money than the Women’s. Yet in 2016, the Women’s National Team of the US filed a complaint against US Soccer for gender discrimination, the reason is not because of the slight pay gap, but mainly because the Women’s are winning titles, unlike the Men’s National Team (Brown).

Calling out imperfections in the world of sports isn’t something new. Changes have occurred before. In 2017, the US Hockey team can reach a deal with the women’s team after they threatened to not play because of unequal wages within the Men’s. They ended up getting the deal and give a shining light to this problem. Adjustment of salary in this industry is possible and worth fighting. Despite the many challenges, resolving the issues and reaching fair agreements are yet to come soon.

–          According to the US Soccer Federation reports, around 2016 and 2018, the US Women’s football team brings more revenue than the US Men’s. It became the main reason the group filed a discrimination complaint of unfair wages against the federation on March 8, 2016 (Bachman).

–          The Football Association (FA) confirmed that England’s Men’s and Women’s football teams receive the same pay and no more gender difference. The Australian football governing body also makes sure that they close the wage gap amongst gender (Reuters).

–          National sports teams are starting to act towards this problem. The Nigerian squad protested at a hotel in 2016 over unfair payments after winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (BBC News).

–          New Zealand reached an agreement in 2018, which distinguished men’s and women’s teams to receive the same payouts and the same prize money on behalf of the national team (BBC News).

–          The definition of equal pay. Women’s and men’s sports teams, having the same necessary workload, responsibilities, and number of matches, are paid the same base salary by their sports governing body.

I will write about sports’ progress over the years and how much athletes can receive a considerable amount of money with being a key to their entertainment industry. The argument that I will pursue is how sports teams worldwide should consider giving far more fair decisions towards wages regarding the athletes’ gender. I will also be covering past solutions, in hopes that it could be an inspiration for a better future towards the pay gap problems. The reasoning of why Men are dominating the world of sports will also be in the writing. And lastly, I will propose a solution that will make athletes feel that they get paid as they deserve.

Websites and Books:

https://www.thelily.com/we-broke-down-4-common-arguments-about-equal-pay-in-womens-pro-sports/ (DiCaro)

https://theforeword.org/599/sports/the-equal-pay-debate-in-us-soccer-fully-explained/ (Brown)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceceliatownes/2020/12/31/a-decade-of-fighting-for-equal-pay/?sh=4b75127e1376 (Townes)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-womens-soccer-games-out-earned-mens-games-11560765600 (Bachman)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-england-pay-idUSKBN25U101 (Reuters)

https://www.insider.com/women-top-100-highest-paid-athletes-2020-forbes-2020-5 (Cash)

Expert Interview:

Endri Erawan (Exco PSSI)

1. There are only 2 Women in the Top 100 most paid athletes over the last decade, with Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka being apart of the list. Also, women’s sports teams and leagues have seen increasing interest and attention in recent years. However, it hasn’t affected women’s financial success in the sports industry (Cash).
2. Around 2016 and 2018, the US Women’s football team brings more revenue than the US Men’s, yet they receive unfair wages. It became the main reason the group filed a discrimination complaint against the federation on March 8, 2016 (Bachman).
3. Football government federations should listen more to the supporters of the equal pay movements. The rising problem of the pay gap between genders is getting out of hand and becoming a public split debate (Brown)
4. Women should receive equal pay even without the achievements they obtained currently because they are doing the same amount of work as the men. The women in the sports industry should not be the victim of such inequality anymore. (Townes)
5. A dramatic pay gap occurred for the US Women’s National Hockey Team before their subsequent salary increases in 2017. At that time, female players were only $1,000 per six months of each Olympic cycle, a salary that works They received almost nothing for the other three and a half years, even though they, like men, were practicing constantly. The “bonus” payout structure only works if a player earns enough money to support himself through a professional team (Brown).
6. In total, FIFA awarded $ 30 million (£ 24 million) to teams competing in the women’s tournament. For last year’s men’s World Cup, the total prize money awarded was $ 400 million (£ 315 million), more than ten times that. In addition to prize money, each women’s team received over $ 800,000 in club preparation and compensation costs. Last year’s men’s team received $ 1.5 million each (BBC News)

Refutations (3 or more points that refute your argumentative points with in-text citations)

1. The amount of money Women’s sports bring in is not close to the Men’s, such as the Men’s World Cup, where it produces much more revenue than the Women’s (DiCaro).
2. Men had been dominating the world of sports, mainly because they had a huge start in the industry, whereas women have only been playing for a few decades (Cash)
3. The Men outperformed the Women in football, which causes more views in the industry. World Cup is one of the proofs of why Men deserve more payment (Bachman)

Bachman, Rachel. “U.S. Women’s Soccer Games Outearned Men’s Games.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 17 June 2019. Web. 06 Feb. 2021.

Brown, Emma. “The Equal Pay Debate in US Soccer, Fully Explained!” The Foreword. Web. 06 Feb. 2021.

Cash, Meredith. “Only 2 of the 100 Highest-paid Athletes on the Planet Are Women.” Insider. Insider, 29 May 2020. Web. 05 Feb. 2021.

DiCaro, Julie. “We Broke down 4 Common Arguments about Equal Pay in Women’s Pro Sports.” 10 Dec. 2019. Web. 05 Feb. 2021.

Townes, Cecelia. “A Decade Of Fighting For Equal Pay In Sports.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 01 Jan. 2020. Web. 05 Feb. 2021.

“England’s Men’s and Women’s Teams Receive Equal Pay, Says FA.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 03 Sept. 2020. Web. 06 Feb. 2021.