The Inequality of Media Time and Pay Gap in Women’s Sports
Surge News Sports dives into gender based challenges faced by some of the best athletes in North America
The inequity between women’s and men’s sports exists on multiple levels. The gap in pay is a huge issue, which is a domino effect of the lack of display of women’s athletes in the media. How are female athletes supposed to get ahead when 96% of all media coverage in sports goes toward their male counterparts? Surge Sports News examined some major sports in North America and found troubling statistics regarding the state of female sports leagues…or lack thereof.
Coverage
Think of the last time you watched any sport on television. Whether it was basketball, soccer, or MMA, the coverage was most likely of men. Since women first began participating in professional sports, there has always been a discrepancy between the attention provided to women versus what is offered to men, and in 2019 it was discovered that 95% of sports news is coverage of men’s leagues. Take the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), for example. In September 2021, there were a total of 607 men registered with the UFC, and only 117 women. The result is men dominating promotions and airtime every time there is a significant fighting event. This is similar to other sports where the effort and money put into advertisements featuring women are drastically lower. Little known to even most hockey fans, there are in fact two professional women’s hockey leagues in North America. The PHF and PWHPA have been around for years, but due to a lack of funding, and support from the NHL, their games are seldom televised. The argument that women’s hockey wouldn’t be supported on primetime tv is naive to say due to the fact that 2.7 million Canadians watched the most recent gold medal game at the olympics…games that started at 10 pm Eastern time. A study done in 2019 found that women only appeared in a total of 5.4% of televised news and sports broadcasting, and when they were featured, it was most-likely at an unpopular viewing time, such as late at night. Next time you watch sports, pay attention to how much of the time is given to women, or if there are any featured.
Pay Gap
A common problem that has generated a lot of discussion and debate in recent years is the salary disparity between male and female athletes. Despite the rise in popularity of women’s sports, and the acknowledgment of female athletes as top competitors, they continue to earn much less money in terms of salary, sponsorship deals, and prize money than men do. Women’s sports still face the challenge of lack of investment and sponsorship, which is reflected in the pay disparity between male and female athletes. This disparity is a clear example of gender inequality and must be addressed if we want to see women’s sports reach their full potential”(Townes, 2019) This pay gap reflects a large social problem of gender discrimination and is not just present in one sport but is present across many disciplines.
The pay gap for men’s and women’s professional sports is truly astonishing. For example, the highest-paid male UFC fighter took home $6,090,000 in 2020, while the highest-paid female took home just $290,000 in 2020. The statistics get even more shocking when looking into other sports such as basketball. NBA players are paid 100 times more than WNBA players. This number is astounding, yet the sports industry has not seen changes in media coverage since the 1980s, which does not help in any way to increase pay and equality for women’s sports.
Fun fact: did you know that the highest paid WNBA player makes 2.75 times more money than the highest paid NBA mascot?
References
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Associated Press. (2022, June 17). Another suit filed seeking to reinstate und women’s hockey. AP NEWS. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://apnews.com/article/sports-north-dakota-grand-forks-hockey-womens-050a9cf3fe1e165b9d4699cd627de36e
E, A. C. (2022, October 16). How much do UFC fighters earn? – here’s A closer look. MMA Channel. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://mmachannel.com/how-much-do-ufc-fighters-earn-heres-a-closer-look/
Goal Five. (n.d.). Sexism in sports: Statistics might surprise you. Goal Five. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://goalfive.com/blogs/news/sexism-in-sport-statistics
Guaglione, S. (2021, April 9). Why growth of women’s sports coverage and advertiser interest is bogged down by small steps forward. Digiday. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://digiday.com/media/why-growth-of-womens-sports-coverage-and-advertiser-interest-is-bogged-down-by-small-steps-forward/
Marig, M. (2020, May 4). Women in sports - issue on Pay Gap, media coverage and women representation in sports. Medium. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://mariga0099.medium.com/women-in-sports-issue-on-pay-gap-media-coverage-and-women-representation-in-sports-205ac4dd287d
Pickman, B. (n.d.). New Study finds women’s sports barely covered on TV – sports illustrated. Retrieved February 12, 2023, from https://www.si.com/sports-illustrated/2021/03/24/womens-sports-gender-study-discrepancy
Purdue News. (n.d.). Overlooking her shot: Women’s sports need an assist as coverage remains the same as 30 years ago. Purdue University News. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2021/Q1/overlooking-her-shot-womens-sports-need-an-assist-as-coverage-remains-the-same-as-30-years-ago.html
Scimino. (2021, March 24). News media keeps pressing the mute button on Women’s sports coverage. USC News. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://news.usc.edu/183765/womens-sports-tv-news-coverage-sportscenter-online-usc-study/
Travis Scheadler, Audrey Wagstaff. (2018, May 25). Exposure to women’s sports: Changing attitudes toward female athletes. The Sport Journal. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://thesportjournal.org/article/exposure-to-womens-sports-changing-attitudes-toward-female-athletes/
Townes, C. (2019, December 31). A Decade Of Fighting For Equal Pay In Sports. In Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceceliatownes/2020/12/31/a-decade-of-fighting-for-equal-pay/
Universe Staff. (2022, April 27). Model athletes – the portrayal of women’s sports in Media. The Daily Universe. Retrieved February 11, 2023, from https://universe.byu.edu/2022/03/17/model-athletes-the-portrayal-of-womens-sports-in-media/ Townes, C. (2019, December 31). A Decade Of Fighting For Equal Pay In Sports. In Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceceliatownes/2020/12/31/a-decade-of-fighting-for-equal-pay/
https://news.usc.edu/183765/womens-sports-tv-news-coverage-sportscenter-online-usc-study/
https://news.usc.edu/183765/womens-sports-tv-news-coverage-sportscenter-online-usc-study/
https://www.sportsunfold.com/top-10-ufc-womens-fighters-in-2022/
