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Tag: pay gap

  • The Pay Gap in Women’s Sports

    The Pay Gap in Women’s Sports

    The popularity of women’s sports viewership has grown in recent years.  In 2020, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) broke viewership records by nearly 300%, reaching 653,000 views.  Interest in women’s soccer was spurred by the 2019 World Cup win.  The United State’s women’s teams have placed in the top three every World Cup since the tournament was established in 1991, sparking interest.  The 2020 NWSL challenge cup drew viewership on par with a Major League Baseball game airing in the same time slot. 

    So, what has changed?  Esmeralda Negron, the co-founder of Atlanta Media and former professional soccer player, said, “Premium broadcasting plays a massive role in elevating the visibility and profile of leagues and players at the club level.”  Viewership was improved because the first and last games aired on CBS, rather than a subscription service.  Also, the month-long tournament schedule started before the men’s league and before the NBA returned from lockdown. 

    Not only has viewership changed, but viewers want women’s sports.  84% of sports fans are interested in women’s sports, and 66% of people are interested in at least one women’s sport.  The demographic of sports fans are 49% women and 51% men.  The Olympic Channel found that 56% of engagement comes from women, and viewership of women’s content is 16% higher than that of men’s.  Yet, only half of the sports governing bodies have a boardroom of at least 25% women. 

    The sports gender gap goes beyond viewership.  In NCAA Division 1 schools, more than half of the students are women, yet only 44% of athletic opportunities are for women.  Division 1 football schools only give women 29% of total athletic operating expenses, 28% of recruiting dollars, and 39% of athletic scholarship dollars.  For every $1 spent on women’s sports, $2.50 are spent on men’s, and coaches for women earn $.063 for every $1 earned by coaches for men.

    In addition, there are huge pay gaps for female athletes.  On average, female athletes are earning 63% of their male counterparts.  In basketball, the NBA pays its players up to 51% of the league’s revenue, but the WNBA only pays its players up to 23% of their league’s revenue.  In addition, in 2020, Forbes’ 50 highest-paid athletes included just one woman, Naomi Osaka. 

    What does the future hold?  While fewer people are interested in women’s sports than some men’s sports, there is still a large fanbase.  The potential fanbase for women’s sports is in the millions; 38% of people who’d never watched a women’s sports even before say they “could be interested” in the future.  Media coverage is key in improving viewership and interest.  In 2020, women made up 40% of sportspeople but received just 4% of the sports media coverage.  Lack of media coverage impacts sponsorships, creating missed opportunities.

    Women’s sports represent a valuable sponsorship opportunity for brands, yet just .4% of sponsorship dollars go to women’s sports.  1 in 5 people is more influenced by sponsorships of women’s than of men’s.  3 in 4 people interested in women’s sports can name at least one brand involved, and 63% of people believe brands should invest in both women’s and men’s sports.  It’s time to invest in women’s sports.

    “The fact that it’s 2021 and the WNBA and NCAA women’s sports are treated like some sort of rec league specialty sport like the national corn hole league is is beyond disgusting, it’s time to stand up and bring true equality to sports.” Eric Mitchell – CEO, LifeFlip Media

    The Business of Women
  • The Effect of Remote Work on the Wage Gap

    The Effect of Remote Work on the Wage Gap

    When the COVID-19 pandemic reared its head last year, millions of Americans were forced to make dramatic changes to their daily life. Students attended class through a computer, masks became a necessary accessory for outings, and large segments of the workforce did their jobs from home. Nearly 90% of global organizations either encouraged or required employees to work remotely. Of those companies, two thirds of them believe remote work will become a permanent fixture. Changes that many viewed as a coronavirus-induced aberration could become the new normal.

    What does this mean for the American worker? How will converting the home office into one’s only office change workplace dynamics? On the subject of persistent pay inequality, will remote work improve or escalate the problem?  As is the case with any form of change, the transition to permanent remote work has benefits and drawbacks. While good things can arise from the new system, it isn’t poised to iron out payment inequalities any time soon.

    On the side of workers, the major benefit of telework is elimination of commute. Not only does this free up time for employees, but it also spares the money they would have otherwise spent on fuel, vehicle maintenance, or toll fees. Once a worker knows they will rarely (if ever) have to visit their company’s office in person again, they no longer need to live so close to their employer. Despite recent business migrations, many companies are still headquartered in expensive cities like San Francisco, New York City, or Washington DC. These major metropolises have extreme costs of living and scarce affordable housing. If a remote worker no longer needs to live in those cities for their job, they are free to relocate to a less expensive location. 

    And relocate they do. Already as many as 23 million Americans may relocate, with city dwellers twice as likely to move. In the coming years, that number may increase to 3 or 4 times that number. Because part of an employee’s salary is contingent on local living expenses, some companies will cut pay for those who move. However, the drop in housing, living, and transportation costs can more than make up for the decrease in earnings. Location-based pay differences are a form of wage gap, but they are one capable of benefiting everyone. American workers could still save up to $4000 annually thanks to remote work.

    When it comes to the better known forms of wage gap (those incurred on the basis of gender and race), the picture is less than rosy. Though some experts think that telework will decrease hiring and management biases against women and racial minorities, women still earn less than men when both work in remote positions. In addition, many jobs women and racial minorities currently hold are less likely to allow them to work from home, preventing them from realizing the benefits discussed above. 

    Every new update to the world comes with pros and cons. The advent of telework is no different in that regard.

    the modern wage gap (infographic)

  • Salma Hayek Talks Prostitutes and Pornography

    Salma Hayek may have been seen as a hot body or a long time, but she’s been working for the cause of equality for women for …

    “For about 30 years.” Hayek says.

    Salma Hayek is happy that so many other actresses are taking up the banner and not letting the issue fade from public sight. But she also insists that the problem of pay disparity is not just about Hollywood.

    “It’s not exclusive to the movie industry at all,” Hayek says. “It’s the same in every industry. The only two industries where women get paid more than men are prostitution and pornography. We have to be so good to get noticed in any other way. We have to be three times as good as they are.”

    Salma Hayek’s words are echoed by those of Robin Wright, who recently said something very similar.

    “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America,” Wright continued. “It is a man’s world. Most industries are a man’s world. But when you break it down, it’s women [who do the work]. But they don’t necessarily get the credit.”

    Hayek also points out that it is not just in the payroll department that Hollywood ignores women, but in writing and deciding what films to promote.

    “I’m very hopeful that it’s gonna change really fast, not because Hollywood cares about women but because we represent economically something that they need and that they neglected. Now they’re in trouble because they don’t even know what we want to see.”

    While Hollywood knws with certainty that men like big action movies, perhaps comic book films, they are unclear about what to offer women.

    “What do we want to see? We’ve been so abandoned by this industry that I don’t think we even know. What is our big, exciting, movie experience? Nobody’s bothered to ask the question.”

  • Amanda Seyfried Furious Over Being Paid Pennies Compared To Male Costars

    Amanda Seyfried was furious when she found out how much she was getting short-changed.

    “A few years ago, on one of my big-budget films, I found I was being paid 10 percent of what my male costar was getting,” Seyfried told the Sunday Times. “And we were pretty even in status.”

    This is the kind of inequality that has sparked more discussions this year than ever before. Some of that was kicked off when emails from Sony were hacked and leaked online. Seyfried and others got to see what kinds of numbers were being tossed around in their industry.

    Before Seyfried got her bad news, Charlize Theron used the information learned from leaked Sony emails to get an equal asking price as her male co-star Chris Hemsworth for Snow White and the Huntsman.

    “I thought about the temperature out there – with finding out what Jennifer [Lawrence] and Amy [Adams] were being paid on a set with guy actors who are their counterparts … They’re just as good as any of the guys on there,” Theron said. “Yeah, that pissed me off.”

    Amanda Seyfried sees this kind of uneven work area as ridiculous.

    “I think people think that just because I’m easygoing and game to do things, I’ll just take as little as they offer,” Seyfried said. “It’s not about how much you get, it’s about how fair it is.”

    Seyfried’s friend and co-star Lizzy Caplan says that one would think there would not be that kind of inequality in a business like film nowadays, where female execs are on the rise.

    “I mean, (look at) wage inequality even in our business, which is supposed to be this progressive side of things,” Caplan said. “I mean, it’s insane and it really pisses me off. I could go on a really hardcore feminist rant right now, but I’m not going to do that.”

  • Sarah Jessica Parker Says Working Women Deserve More Help Than Her

    Sarah Jessica Parker knows she’s got it good. The 50-year-old Sex and the City actress is reportedly worth a whopping $90 million. But when it comes to priorities and values, Sarah Jessica Parker just might surprise you.

    When asked in Cosmo‘s August issue what issues were important to her, Sarah Jessica Parker quickly replied, “Equality in pay. Paid sick leave. The thing that would change people’s lives maybe more than anything, assuming that we maintain access to health care, is child care.”

    Her answer is not just a canned response by a celebrity to show she knows how the little people live. She has specifics, and the perspective to know that things like child care matter.

    “If I could guarantee every mother who is working two, three jobs that she had good child care that didn’t make her anxious all day—people would probably work in more efficient ways. How many times do you hear a wealthy person get asked, ‘How do you do it all?’ If I’m asked that question one more time . . . I’m like, are you kidding me? Ask someone who looks like she’s about to drop, ‘How are you doing? How are you managing?’”

    Sarah Jessica Parker says she knows her level of success is built on the shoulders of those who came before her, especially women.

    “I’m enormously appreciative of the work that my mother’s generation did,” Parker says. “We are the beneficiaries of a lot of disappointment, heartache, discouragement, and misunderstanding.”

    But Sarah Jessica Parker adds to the struggles of those women the struggles of others trying to gain an equal footing in society. She sees these struggles as a fight for human equality, not just women.

    “I see a lot of people trying to sort out their roles,” Parker says. “People of color, gays, lesbians, and transgenders who are carving out this space. I’m not spitting in the face or being lazy about what still needs to be done—but I don’t think it’s just women anymore.”