Gianna Longo
Throughout history, people have debated gender inequality in professional sports. While there has been some progress in addressing this issue, women still struggle to be treated equally to male athletes. Women have far less support and “hype” in sports compared to male athletes. One of the most significant challenges women face is unequal pay. For example, “The average salary for WNBA athletes was just over $102,000 in 2022, and many athletes sought work overseas for higher pay (Ksby.com)” While those numbers don’t seem too low, let's compare this to the NBA as “The average NBA salary is $8.2 million per year”(Ksby.com). These numbers are simply ridiculous and unfair. All athletes, regardless of gender, work just as hard and have made the same sacrifices in being a professional athlete.
There are a few reasons why this is the case. Women’s sports are typically less popular than men's sports, therefore they don’t produce the same amount of revenue. Women were introduced historically to sports far later than men because of societal limitations and this has played a role in the lack of interest in women’s sports. There are many stereotypes in sports, for instance, men are both stronger and better at sports than females, making them viewed as better athletes and more entertaining in sports.
While some may argue that women’s sports are less interesting, at the same time, women’s sports receive far less coverage and media exposure. The media greatly influences people’s attitudes and perspectives, so people are encouraged to think that women’s sports are less worthy given that they receive less attention.
The media is very influential in developing our society and continues to affect sports both positively and negatively. The use of social media can help to change society’s views of women athletes and break stereotypes that surround women’s sports. Society needs to be more aware of this issue and come together in bringing equality to women’s sports. Policies have been created for equal pay: “There has been significant progress in the last few years. In late 2022, Congress passed the Equal Pay for Team USA law, ensuring that women playing for international teams must make the same as men”(Ksby.com). Women have come a long way in the sports world as we see more female athletes, coaches, and leaders. Our goal as a society should be to limit gender inequality in sports, work towards an increase in revenue and media coverage, and furthermore the equal pay that female athletes deserve.