When I hear other women say, “We have come a long way with women’s rights, we should be grateful,” I don’t quite know whether I want to cheer with them or strangle them. When you put it in perspective, damn straight we have made it a long way with being able to join the workforce, demanding balance of domestic duties, and entering into job fields that were previously male only. But I’m not a female that settles. This female Benchwarmer says we have a looooong way to go yet—particularly with female professional athletics.
According to the National Women’s Law Center, women in 2016 still make only 79 cents to the dollar that men are paid, this would include professions such as professional athletics. Now being that I’m an English teacher, I don’t “math” very much, but I do know that 79 cents doesn’t equal $1.
I also know the definition of equal means to be the “same in size, quantity, degree, or value.” By that definition, we have yet to achieve that in our society.
The bottom line when it comes to professional female athletics is men’s sports have more TV air time, more endorsements, and more revenue from fans. I find it incredibly chauvinistic that people don’t watch female sports more often. Do sports have to consist of male players in order to be more exciting? More intense? That’s a primitive line of thinking, and quite ignorant if you have never bothered to watch a bunch of highly competitive females going at it in a game of sport—we can be a vicious lot when we need to be. But alas, in our “forward thinking” America, we must be male, large, and brutish to warrant any respect or attention from sports fans.
I was happy to hear, though, that the U.S. women’s soccer team is filing a grievance for pay equal to that of the U.S. men’s team. But what disturbs me are the consequent reactions of people and media publications in the United States.
For instance, I wanted to shove a soccer ball down Bill Conerly’s throat. Up until this week, I had no idea who he was. He is a contributing writer for Forbes magazine. When I came across his April 12 article titled, “U.S. Women’s Soccer Salaries: The Economic Justification for Paying the Men More,” I wanted to find this guy and kick a soccer ball down his throat—although throwing a softball would be more up my alley.
This issue is not about economic justification. In fact, that’s a very cold and mathematical approach to an absolutely ETHICAL issue. The Equal Pay Law (which evidently doesn’t mean much in this case) states “equal pay for equal work.” So indirectly, by not paying women more, you might as well tell them the work they do on the field is not equal to that of the men. I don’t see how that makes one damn bit of sense when it’s the same sport—they run back and forth the same distance, kick the same ball, run into other players just as hard. All the players train, travel, practice year-round, and sacrifice time with their families. How is that not equal work?
Then there are those who have been so bold as to argue that men should be paid more because they face greater competition to make the roster, they draw higher attendance, and they draw higher ratings. Now I obviously can’t speak for everyone, but I would much rather watch the women. Contrary to popular belief, they seem less likely to be dramatic and roll around on the field like overgrown babies (compared to the antics of the male players I watched), when they run into other players, but hey, that’s just me. And how is the lower attendance and ratings on the women’s side the women’s team’s fault? I blame U.S. Soccer and FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) for poor advertising and marketing of female soccer.
Then there is all this talk of bonuses and stagnant player pools—which I don’t rightfully care to understand—essentially saying that if women asked for equal pay it would put U.S. soccer $7.5 million in the hole. THEN FIX HOW YOU PAY SOCCER PLAYERS! Why do the women have to suffer less pay? The method of payout for these players is far too performance based and unfair.
Let’s be real, if this was the other way around, U.S. soccer and people around the world would be demanding more pay for men’s soccer. Hell, men’s basketball and baseball (already the highest paid athletes anywhere) can demand more pay. Football players can demand more pay and health insurance, and a majority of the entire country rallies around them. But women’s soccer is not asking for more, they are simply asking for it to be equal. And what do they get? People saying that it’s economically justified for them to make less, and that their ratings and attendance simply aren’t good enough.
So sure, women have made it a long way. But don’t tell me that as a country, we are not still very discriminatory against women. We continue to de-value women in any way that we can—from obnoxious rap videos to professional sports. Equality, in this case, is a ruse and a false premise. But what do I know? I’m just a Benchwarmer, and I want equal pay for U.S. Women’s Soccer.
Kristina Sewell can be reached through the editor at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 28 – May 5, 2016.