Recently, a report by ‘Sportico’ was published listing the 100 highest-paid athletes in the world as of the recent year. However, disappointing to note, not a single female athlete made it onto this list – not a single woman of any age, from any sport, or from any country. What does this say about women’s sports? And more importantly, what does this mean for the future of female athletes?
As a female athlete myself, I was gutted at the news that not one female athlete made it onto this list. This is because it’s not just a list posted online, but an insight into the gender inequality that still exists within the sporting industry. After what has been such a monumental year for women in sports, it begs the question about how much ‘real’ progress is being made here.
The list’s top athletes include Cristino Ronaldo, Stephen Curry, and Tyson Fury, with the highest paid athlete earning 260 million dollars. The lowest paid athlete on the list earned 37.5 million dollars. In comparison, the highest paid female athlete for the year was Coco Gauff earning 30.4 million dollars. While it’s clear that women’s earnings are increasing, they are still remarkably low in comparison, with Coco Gauff still millions of pounds apart from the
lowest paid male athlete in the list, Daniel Jones.
Lots would argue that this is considerably more surprising after the monumental year that women’s sport has had. With key figures such as Simone Biles’ incredible Olympic comeback and Ilona Maher’s significant impact on women’s rugby, the result of this list almost feels more disheartening. However, in all honesty, when I first read the list, I wasn’t very surprised, and I truly think that that is the worst part about all of this. In the current climate of the sports industry, whilst women’s sports and female athletes are growing in terms of spectator levels and recognition, we still have a long way to go.
So what needs to change…
With issues such as this, it is often thought that there needs to be a form of intervention by governing bodies. This can be in the form of implementing laws to close salary disparities. Whilst this will contribute to solving the problem, these figures come from a combination of salary, prize money, and endorsements. This means that it doesn’t just come down to equal pay initiatives. There needs to be a greater focus on increasing the investment in women’s sports, increasing funding for leagues and putting more investment into marketing measures
that can increase spectator levels of women’s sport. This therefore also comes down to equal media representation. With increased coverage of women’s sport, comes increased interest and viewing figures. This not only brings female athletes into the spotlight more but ultimately helps to increases earnings.
As mentioned earlier, the issue with this list isn’t just about the money. With not a single woman making the list, this highlights a lack of respect and continued levels of inequality. It’s as much about recognition as it is any financial reward. Whilst woman’s sports are growing, there is still a long way to go. With viewers watching habits changing, it is now up to the sporting industry to take charge and make some changes. Let’s see where this list stands in a year’s time.