Equity By Liz Clarke Summary

In Liz Clarke’s “Equity” a closer look at the wage gap between men and women in sports is being observed. From soccer to hockey, female athletes are paid significantly less than their male counterparts. The case is the same for even the best in the world. Clarke presents the reader with a lawsuit filed in March of 2019 against the U.S. Soccer Federation for pay inequality, gender discrimination, unsatisfactory training facilities, and more. However, the gigantic gap between salaries between the U.S. men's and women's soccer is the focal point of Clarke’s article. Clarke stands with the women in their fight against the wage gap in their respective sports. As many female athletes begin to stand up against their employers for pitiful pay,

There is no denying that women in sports are underpaid. However, there are many reasons that contribute to this outcome besides cries of misogyny. As we already have observed the numbers of pay between both men and women in soccer, there is one culprit that stand out.

Stated by Clarke in her article, “men are paid for individual performances, while the women have negotiated year-round salaries” (Clarke, Equity, June 11, 2019). This means that the volatility for men’s pay is much higher as it is based on their performance in games and the outcome. As for women, there is a set-in stone dollar amount they are owed for their yearly salary. Observing their recent success, a negotiation for a similar contract to one based on performance and far more enticing and profitable for players on the U.S. women’s soccer team.

Player performance aside, the matter of looking at the sports world as a business cannot be ignored. Taking a closer look at other sports, such as basketball, we can clearly see what the numbers are telling us. In 2022, the average salary of a WNBA player is $102,751 (Singh,

WNBA salaries, SEP 4, 2022). While six-figure salaries are nothing to complain about,

A simple subtraction equation will tell you that they are in fact losing money every year. The question now is, how can the WNBA afford to pay their players? The answer lies behind the “profits around $8 billion” (Koehler, Economy, Not

Misogyny, Drives Unequal Pay in Sports, APRL 19, 2021) made annually by the NBA. In this light the WNBA, from an economic standpoint, is a burden to the NBA’s annual revenue because of their ownership over the women’s league. However, the 10 million lost annually is a small fraction of the profit stars create in the NBA. Considering that the WNBA is actually costing money instead of making it, the roughly $100,000 the average player in the league is making looks to be quite generous.

In conclusion, I stand behind the female athletes. I would be quite furious if my income was only a fraction of those who are the opposite sex of me, and it would not sit well. However, logically thinking, it is not sustainable to be paid these large sums of money female athletes are asking for because of the lack of revenue their entertainment creates. Think of it from