Should female and male athletes be paid the same?

Over the years we have seen the difference between the salary for male and female athletes. In 2021 Lebron James earned $44.47M. On the other hand, Diana Taurasi, also being a basketball player, earned $119,500. Basketball is not the only sport in which there is a big difference. For example, in soccer the difference is huge. Lionel Messi (one of the best soccer players in the world), makes $41M while Alexia Putellas, being considered the best female soccer player in the world at the moment, makes $150,000. According to some studies it is not a gender issue, it is a revenue issue. That is the reason why male’s salaries are higher, because they generate more revenue. However, not all sports are better paid for male than females. Some sports like gymnastics or ballet are better paid for females. Tennis is one of the sports with the most equality, in which since 2007 they have been trying to pay almost the same amount of money for male and female athletes, even though there are still some differences.

 

Sports is not the only sector in which there is a difference of salary for men and women. Modeling is a good example. In modeling there is a big difference between both genders resulting in paying a lot more for women. Female models make an average of $41,300 annually, which is 148% more than men, who earn an average of about $28,000. 

 

There are a lot of points of view on this topic. Some people believe that all genders should be paid equally in all sports. However, others think that they should be paid based on the revenue they make. Some studies show that different sports are more willing to have a bigger audience depending on the gender playing it. 

 

In my opinion males and females shouldn’t be paid the same but there shouldn't be such a big difference in their salaries, as females make the same effort as males. On the other hand, it is proved that the revenue girls and boys generate for the majority of sports channels is by far not the same, resulting in boys generating a lot more money and bringing more audience. This ends up with having more money to pay them because they bring more audience to their sport and make a bigger revenue.

 

Do you think men and female athletes should be paid the same and why?

Do you support and watch more female or men sports?


Sources:

https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/deportes/Tenis-el-deporte-mas-igualitario-en-salarios-20210308-0003.html

https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/lawandarts/article/view/8956

https://www.elfutbolero.es/futbolfemenino/Cuanto-dinero-cobra-Alexia-Putellas-en-el-Barcelona-femenino-20220208-0004.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=messi+salary&rlz=1C1GCEV_en&ei=z8VrY8HiHIObptQP_-2r6Ak&oq=messi+salary&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQARgAMg0IABCxAxCRAhBGEPsBMgUIABCRAjIFCAAQkQIyBQgAEJECMgUIABCRAjIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEOgoIABBHENYEELADOgcIABCwAxBDOhAIABDkAhDWBBCwAxCLAxgBOg8ILhDIAxCwAxBDEIsDGAI6EgguENQCEMgDELADEEMQiwMYAjoHCAAQgAQQCkoECE0YAUoECEEYAEoECEYYAVCwA1ieB2DGEGgBcAB4AIABd4gBmgKSAQMyLjGYAQCgAQHIARG4AQLAAQHaAQYIARABGAnaAQYIAhABGAg&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

https://www.google.com/search?q=diana+taurasi+salary&rlz=1C1GCEV_en&oq=Diana+Taurasi&aqs=chrome.4.0i355i433i512j46i433i512j0i512l5j69i61.5058j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

https://www.google.com/search?q=lebron+james+salary&rlz=1C1GCEV_en&ei=PsZrY7eKIM2ZptQPgMaR2AU&oq=lebron+&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQARgBMgoILhCDARCxAxBDMgUIABCRAjIFCAAQkQIyBAgAEEMyBAgAEEMyBQgAEJECMgsIABCABBCxAxCDATIECAAQQzIHCAAQsQMQQzIECAAQQzoECC4QQzoLCAAQjwEQjwEQ6gI6CggAELEDEIMBEENKBAhNGAFKBAhBGABKBAhGGABQAFifOmDdRGgBcAF4AIABkQGIAZ0GkgEDNS4zmAEAoAEBsAEKwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

https://fortune.com/2015/07/15/male-models-pay/




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Replies

  • I think it all depends on the sport. In some sports, male athletes put more work in than females. I think that it would be safe to pay the same. If you look at it male sports have more attraction the female sports, so it makes more sense to pay for the sport that is more popular and has more fans/attraction to it to be paid more. I watch more male sports.

  • I don't think that men and women athletes should be paid the same. It all comes down to how much money the sport makes and how good the players are. I think many can agree that if an NBA team played against a WNBA team, the NBA team would win. This would show that NBA players are naturally better. However, the big reason is because of the amount of money the NBA takes in compared to how much the WNBA takes in. 

    • I agree that money male and females ahtleter main shouldn't be the same. 

  • I do not think men and women should be paid the same. I agree with you that they are different, but still I don't think they should be paid the same. However in my thought i think the reason why guys get paid more is because their sport go on tv a lot and people like watching them. But sometime not everybody like watching women playing so I think that has something to do with it.

  • I see that the money has to come somewhere, so I understand why male athletes are often getting paid more. However, I think that the difference between the wages shouldn't be so big. I think that we can also do something for more equal pay. For example, we could support and watch women's sport more. 

    • I agree with you but I think it is very difficult and not fair for boys to pay the same. They make more revenue and that is why they are better paid.

  • I do not think men and woman should be paid the same. I agree with you that they  are  different, and they bring in different amounts of money. I think that whoever brings in more money, should be paid more. Therefore, men should be paid more because their sports bring in more money.

    • I think the same as you. Whoever brings more money should be the one making more money.

  • I do not think that men and women athletes should get the same amount of pay. Yet, sometimes they are doing the same work, but if you take it into sports, men sports are more popular than woman sports. 

  • I do not think that men and women athletes should be paid the same. Yes, they are both doing the same work and what not, but mens sports bring in way more money than womens sports does. Because mens sports bring in more, I think that they should be paid more.

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