The Battle Between the Sexes: Pay Gap Edition

A recap of some recent fights for women’s equality in sports.


A picture that highlights the difference between the women’s “weight room” and the men’s weight room from CBC.

The fight for equality in the sporting world for women has been a constant battle for many years. Serious progress has been made in the last decade, but the fight still continues. Many female athletes and women’s teams are using their platforms to bring these issues to light for the public.

One team that has taken a strong stance against unfair pay is the United States National Womens’ Soccer Team. In 2019, they filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation for Gender Discrimination. 

One of their main hopes was to close the gap between men’s and women’s pay, but they also wanted reform to how they travel, the medical attention they receive, where they practice, and their coaching staff. 

Their main argument was that they played more games and maintained a higher winning percentage than the mens’ team, but still made less than them. The United States National Womens’ Soccer Team is highly awarded and has developed a worldwide reputation of being an incredibly skilled team.

Even after their World Cup wins in 2015 and 2019 they still experienced the inherent sexism of today’s world. The lawsuit went underway in 2019, and during that time the Mens’ United States National Team had never won a world cup. 

Recently the team settled in court for 24 million dollars after years of fighting, and the new settlement clearly states that women and men playing national soccer will now make equal rates. This is a huge win, not just for National Soccer, but a possible turning point for all female athletics. 

The faces behind the soccer revolution are Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan. They are the two previous captains of the United States National Womens’ Soccer Team and have developed quite an inspiring platform for young girls all over the country. 

These issues are not only occurring in the National Soccer League. Women’s College Basketball has been experiencing the repercussions of gender inequality as well.

Sedona, a basketball player for the Oregon Ducks, has developed a strong following in connection with her stance on equality. Last year she leaked several pictures and videos that highlighted the mistreatment of women’s teams in the NCAA tournament. 

One example was a video on her TikTok page that did a tour of the women’s weight room in comparison to the men’s weight room. While the men’s weight room was full of squat racks, free weights, and benches, the women had a single dumbbell set and a few yoga mats. 

Not only were the training centers deemed unfair, but the women’s team received no “swag” for their participation in the tournament. The men’s teams received shirts, hats, water bottles, pants, backpacks, and NCAA souvenirs. 

However, in this year’s March Madness Tournament positive changes were made. To begin with, this is the first year that the women’s bracket is permitted to use March Madness branding. This marks a big step in the right direction. Not only that, but the NCAA admitted to their mistakes and promised to take it upon themselves to improve.

Sedona made a second video reflecting how the NCAA responded to last year’s complaints. She confirmed that the weight room was improved and that all womens’ teams in the tournament received a plethora of NCAA gifts. Sedona also noted that all the swag was the same as the swag received by the mens’ team in different colors. 

Hopefully, the world keeps taking action to improve equality in the athletic world. This mistreatment is evident in day-to-day life for many women, and these hard-working female athletes deserve the same treatment given to men.