Written by Ben King-Hails, Portland, OR
Watching athletic events is a typical part of the daily life of many Americans. But when watching those games most Americans don’t think about the stereotypes they’re unconsciously consuming.
Courtesy: rhrealitycheck.org
The differences in portrayals of women and men in the media are numerous—and rather obvious—if looked at consciously. And the economic inequities between men’s and women’s college sports are notable. Severe would be a better word. Here’s why:
Average annual coaching salary, male: $1,783,100
Average annual coaching salary, female: $850,400.
The gap is even more significant in the professional ranks (pro basketball):
Average WNBA annual coaching salary: $72,000
Average NBA annual coaching salary: $5,150,000.
The highest salary for a male player is $56.68 million. The highest salary for a woman is $105,000.
These differences translate into ticket costs. Consider the comparative cost of a ticket to the World Cup. The cost of the most expensive women’s ticket (last Cup) was $223. The most expensive men’s VIP ticket (last Cup, for the finals) was $50,000.
Courtesy: bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu
This problem—as notable and evident as it is–remains generally unsolved. Very little progress is being made; athletic gender inequality remains pervasive.
What public policy changes might help? First, there’s an issue: policy solutions can’t (and shouldn’t) be forced down consumers’ throats because there’s a big difference, generally, in the fan-demand between men’s and women’s sports.
That demand-gap translate into salary dollars. Consider the case of Brandon Roy, who retired in 2011 from the Portland Trail Blazers. He’s being paid over $14 million. Brittney Griner, on the other hand—the #1 pick in the 2013 WNBA draft and considered a top WNBA player—made about $50,000 last year.
There’s a second issue: forcing salary equity would make most women’s sports financially unviable. Fan-demand will need to increase significantly if women’s pay increases are to rise significantly.
Courtesy: pearsonhighered.com
To get an expert’s take on the situation I interviewed Dr. Michael Messner, professor of sociology and gender studies at the Univ. of Southern California. Here’s how he put it: “Getting kids watching early-on is part of it. We need to think critically about judging women’s sports by the standards of men’s sports.”
Messner continued: “The popularity of women’s sports is unlikely to approach that of men unless and until other social changes take place in society–i.e., gender equality increases across the board, including in sports media.” Even though public policy has targeted equality and reducing gender discrepancies policies in place currently don’t go far enough.
Consider Title IX. The NCAA’s Title IX FAQ page includes this statement: “Title IX requires that the athletics programs meet the interests and abilities of each gender.” Implied in that statement is an underlying notion (expressed as an institutionalized belief) that the genders aren’t equal.
One way to boost the popularity of women’s sports is to alter how women are portrayed publicly. Try an experiment. Do a Google for “Kobe Bryant.” You’ll largely see a variety of action shots. Then do a second search—for “Serena Williams” and for “Alex Morgan.” You’ll likely find a collection of poses, swimsuit shots, and headshots.
Women are receiving media attention, but it’s generally attention of the wrong kind. The media helps trivialize women’s sports by portraying female athletes as sexual objects and, then, as athletes. As Dr. Messner puts it: “It’s clear that historically negative views of women still impact social understandings of women’s physical capabilities. That said, when people see strong and athletic women play sports, it challenges taken-for-granted assumptions of female frailty.”
We need to raise “the right kind of awareness” in women’s sports. If we don’t question the images being presented, then we promote the media’s power to sexualize female athletes. If women’s sports are to be taken seriously, then athletes playing those sports must be taken seriously. That takes us back to the matter of cultivating greater interest in women’s sports. Dr. Messner believes that “…when people are more aware of women’s sports, they attend and watch more.”
Courtesy: amazon.com
But how do we get from here to there? For starters PSAs could be produced and shown regarding the importance of women’s athletics. Classroom discussions about gender stereotypes would help, too.
Ironically, the economics pertaining to gender pay equity is a symptom, not a cause, of the problem. The solution is to put in place a series of reforms—conscious and meaningful reforms.
Change won’t happen overnight, but change can happen if actions are undertaken systematically over time.
