Underpaid

"Imagine you're a little girl. You're growing up. You practice as hard as you can, with girls, with boys. You have a dream. You fight, you work, you sacrifice to get to this stage. You work as hard as anyone you know. And then you get to this stage, and you're told you're not the same as a boy. Almost as good, but not quite the same. Think how devastating and demoralizing that could be."

—Venus Williams

In 2015, women who worked in the United States were typically paid 80% of what men were being paid. An unsettling twenty percent gap in pay. According to the US Census Bureau, the earnings ratio does not appear to be changing anytime soon. Given the rate of change between 1960 and 2015, women are expected to match the salary level of men in 2059. Fifty-five years is a long time. There has to have been some sort of positive change given how far women have come in fighting for equal pay, right? Some sort of tangible improvement that equalizes the compensation for a man and a woman? Wrong. This aspect of inequality is especially prevalent in the sport industry.

In 1960, Arnold Palmer won the the PGA Tour and the highest cash prize of $75,263. Although this may be common knowledge to the general golf enthusiast, what this fan probably doesn't know is that in 1960, female golfer Louise Suggs won the highest cash prize in the LPGA. The LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association), the American organization for female golfers, awarded Suggs a cash prize for her victory as well. However her literal and figurative purse was slightly lighter than Palmer’s at $16,892.

In 2015, Jordan Spieth took home the the title of PGA Tour Champion with a $12,030,465 prize, while New Zealand’s Lydia Ko received $2,800,802. So even after fifty years of this supposed progress towards equal pay, the women in the LPGA continue to play under a wage gap that is slightly over 20%. What drives this divide? It is difficult to say, especially as women have proven that in the game of golf, they are more accurate drivers of the ball, they hit a higher GIR and are on par with men in scoring and putting averages. The only differences that exist in a game of golf between a male league and a female league are the distances of the driving range, and one chromosome.

As you can see, the pay gap in golf is significant.

The factors that contribute to this wage gap are born and cultivated by the construction of the human anatomy itself. The assumption is that men inherently possess a physical advantage to dominate in the realm of physical activity. This leads to more media attention, which then leads to more sought after and lucrative contracts, which then leads to more money.

But let’s examine the sport that is debatably the most “generous” to the women who play it: tennis. On Forbes list of the 10 top-paid female athletes of 2016, eight of these women were tennis players. Ranking number one with a total earnings of $28.9 million and prize money of $8.9 million, Serena Williams is the world’s highest paid female athlete. Williams has consistently proven that she is the best. With 23 Grand Slams under her skirt belt, she is already considered, among most, to be the best female tennis player of all time.

However, when we compare Williams to her male counterpart of 2016, the leader of the ATP Tour, Andy Murray, the discrepancy remains. Murray made a total of $16.3 million in prize money in 2016. Both athletes winning Wimbledon and respectively competing in the other notable competitions, Australian and French Open. What is interesting is that Andy Murray did not even make Forbes’ list of 25 top-paid athletes in 2016. However, ranked fourth in the world for highest paid athlete was Roger Federer with total earnings of $67.8 million and prize money $7.8 million. Therefore, in 2016 men that were not winning championships still grossed the top of the charts for highest paid athletes.

So as wonderful as it is that Williams is wildly successful, and quite frankly making a ton of money, the unequal pay between male and female athletes competing in the same sport continues to be a harsh reality that women in the industry face. Yes, Williams is making a lot of money, but the question remains as the best is she worth more. And by more I mean the equivalent to what male tennis players are making. Although noteworthy tournaments, like Wimbledon, have made advancements to provide men and women with equal screen time and equal pay, there is still small gap in equality that remains. It looks like tennis is on their way.

With this issue driving conflict in the lives of women who compete professionally, they continue to fight for equality.

So what are women doing today to shatter this glass ceiling? Their damn best. No, actually, more than their best, because to be a successful woman in this industry it has been proven that you cannot be average, but must be exceptional.

The U.S. Women’s national soccer team refused to remain silent as they have publicly battled to receive fair compensation. They serve as a perfect example of a team of women who over the course of two decades have become more famous and more successful than their male counterparts. You can argue that men are paid more because they produce more revenue, but in the case of USA Soccer, the cleat is on the other foot, literally.

The women’s U.S. National team made 20 million more dollars in revenue in 2015 than the men’s team, yet the men were still received higher salaries. In addition, 25.4 million viewers tuned into the 2015 World Cup Final against Japan, making that match the highest watched televised soccer match in American history, male or female. In April of 2016, the women of Team USA filed a massive lawsuit to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Leaders of the team filed wage discrimination complaints to make their suffered injustices known.

Similarly, the U.S. Women’s National Ice Hockey team have recently refused to play in the World Championships to protest low and unequal pay, deciding not to represent the United States and defend their title as reigning world champions. USA hockey spends 3.5 million annually to support a schedule of more than 60 games a season for young boys participating in its National Team Development Program. However, there are no comparable development opportunities for girls and the women’s team only play 9 games in the non-Olympic year. Having to maintain other full time positions to support themselves and train as a full time Olympic athlete, the women of USA hockey took a courageous stand in the eye of public scrutiny.

I can imagine that serving your country playing the sport you love is a great honor, but when the injustices of your country outweigh the sensations of pride, women are forced to take a stand.

Two days before the World Championships, the Women's Ice Hockey team and and USA Hockey came to an agreement to increase the compensation of the female athletes. One of the players. Hilary Knight expressed her joy as she posted a video thanking her fans on twitter, “This is an inspirational time and we’re excited to get back on the ice and represent our country.”

One day, even if it is in 2059, women will live in a world of equal opportunity to positions and compensation. But until then, with the whole world watching, they will continue to lace up their cleats and skates, tie their hair back into rugged pony tails, and do what they love for a discounted rate.