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The World Cup title earned by the USA Women’s national team this month once again sparked a debate about pay equity between men and women in the US and worldwide. The difference in award money between the men’s and women’s World Cup champion teams, $35 million and $2 million respectively, was widely reported and decried as sexist injustice.
Left out of most of the reports was the fact that the men’s World Cup generates much more revenue than the women’s. In the most recent tournaments for which there is complete revenue data, (2010 men’s and 2011 women’s) the women actually earned a higher percentage of the total revenue (13% to 9%) than the men did. Looking at it another way, the men’s 2014 tournament games in Brazil drew an average of 53,592 fans while this year’s women’s games drew an average of 26,029.
Some have argued that the disparity in revenue is a result of FIFA’s lack of promotion of the women’s game or corporations’ reluctance to sponsor a women’s sport. After much study, I have come up with an alternate theory that applies to soccer and many other sports; it will likely generate some controversy. The theory is as follows:
Men are, on average, bigger, faster, and stronger than women, and sports that emphasize size, speed, or strength will be dominated by men. Women, on average, have better balance and are more flexible and graceful than men and activities that emphasize these qualities will be dominated by women.
That statement may cause you to gasp in horror – it pains me to say it – but it has to be said. This is not a feel-good, girl-empowering statement, but there it is. What is most amazing is that these simple facts, which everyone knows save for a few deluded souls, is almost never stated publicly. In general, the world’s top female athletes occupy a rarified stratum that the average male does not. But they are nowhere near the top male athletes in terms of size, speed, and strength.
Which is not to denigrate the accomplishments of female athletes, or any athlete for that matter. I applaud the accomplishments of Team USA and the hard work it took to achieve them. In a sport in which the USA is playing a game of catch-up with the rest of the world, the success of the women’s team shows how well women’s athletics are supported here. High-performing female athletes deserve as many accolades for their hard work and dedication as the men do – this does not mean their sports are as exciting or as marketable as men’s.
Take a look at this clip from CBS This Morning show of July 10 and the slant of the accompanying article. Starting at 3:40 into the clip, host Nora O’Donnell attempts to play up the pay disparity in her interview with Team USA stars Carli Lloyd and Becky Sauerbrunn. Note how Lloyd and Sauerbrunn reluctantly take the bait and comment on the disparity, but also talk about how they need to work hard and continue to build interest in the sport.
High-performers tend not to make excuses or blame others for their position, so Lloyd’s and Sauerbrunn’s reluctance to declare a grand sexist conspiracy is not surprising. They are also keenly aware of the differences between men and women athletically; the women’s national team often scrimmages against high school age boys teams and loses, though this is rarely reported in the media. For instance, in 2012 the women’s team competed against the USA Men’s National Under-17 team and lost 8-2. The best WNBA team would lose to many boys’ high school and AAU teams. The record books of individual sports with objective measures (e.g. track and field, swimming) speak for themselves.
It is not reasonable to expect fans to equally support a game that is slower and less spectacular simply because women are playing in it. Rather than simply producing slower and less dynamic versions of sports played by men, those wishing to promote women’s sports should look for inspiration to sports that are tailored for women. Two that come to mind are figure skating and gymnastics. In both of these sports, the women’s versions emphasize balance, flexibility and grace in addition to speed and strength. Most devotees of pairs figure skating would probably not pay to see a woman struggle to toss her taller, heavier male counterpart into the air, and with good reason. Existing women’s sports could be modified (e.g. lower the hoop in basketball) to make them more exciting, rather than just mimicking the men’s game.
The proponents of equal pay in athletics tend to ignore the relevant facts and emphasize less relevant or irrelevant factors. For instance, closely read this quote from Purdue University professor Cheryl Cooky, taken from The Atlantic:
“Men’s sports are going to seem more exciting,” she says. “They have higher production values, higher-quality coverage, and higher-quality commentary … When you watch women’s sports, and there are fewer camera angles, fewer cuts to shot, fewer instant replays, yeah, it’s going to seem to be a slower game, [and] it’s going to seem to be less exciting.”
Keep in mind that this is a professor at a prestigious university – someone who teaches – saying this. According to Ms. Cooky, women’s sports are not slower – there is a conspiracy afoot to make them seem that way.
Consider the rambling speech given by Senator Patrick Leahy (D – Vermont) on the Senate floor on July 13 about the World Cup pay disparity, in which he stated:
“Opponents of an equal prize awards (sic) in sports point to revenue as the reason behind this disparity. But revenue shouldn’t be and cannot be accepted as a means of discrimination.”
While this may just be shameless pandering to half of his constituents, it could be that Leahy actually believes what he says. Since his graduation from law school in 1964, he spent two years working in a law firm (where, ironically, attorneys are usually paid based on how much revenue they generate) and the other 49 years as an elected official. So, he has much more experience disposing of revenue than producing it.
There is also a subtle undercurrent in the discussions that argues that everyone should support professional women’s athletics (by “support”, I mean watch, sponsor, buy merchandise) equally with men’s as a form of social justice, regardless of the quality of the product. This aligns with a broader socialist agenda that rewards effort and good intentions as opposed to results and demands rates of representation and reward that match the society’s demographics. Under this theory, I should be able to gather some of my short, slow, hopelessly earthbound friends and start a new basketball league. And thou shalt be obligated to buy tickets and merchandise.
Playing sports can be a rewarding and enriching experience for boys and girls and men and women of all ages, and it should be encouraged. But there is no right to be a professional athlete, or to be in any profession for that matter. Or to be paid a certain amount of money for doing it. Every position must be earned and those who consume your work product will determine its value.
With all of this in mind, there is one simple way to ensure gender pay equity in sports. Eliminate separate competitions for men and women; have them compete directly against each other under the same rules. For some reason, no one is suggesting that.
