Survey: '50% of Britons believe unequal pay in sport is justifiable'

Unequal pay in sport is on the decrease with countries all over the world helping to bridge the gender pay gap. Albeit small, yet incremental changes and improvements, there is some way before the gap is fully closed.

There is an obvious difference in pay between women and men in sport.

The women who play football for Lyon and the men who represent Real Madrid can both call themselves European champions, yet only one group got a prize of millions for achieving this honour. In 2017, both sides won their respective European competitions, yet Madrid were awarded £13.5m while Lyon were given just £219,920 for winning the female equivalent.

Why does this matter? The answer is simple: unequal prize money equates to unequal pay.

Is that fair?
According to PlayOJO's study into unequal pay in sport, around 50% of Britons think unequal pay is fair and justified.

The PlayOJO study showed that 50% believe it is acceptable for male and female sports stars to be paid differing amounts in the same sport.

Sports Pay

However, there are some studies suggesting that the gap is closing.

According to a study of 68 different disciplines published by BBC Sport last year, a total of 83% of sports now reward men and women equal prize money.

Is the gender gap in sport actually closing?
It appears that there is still gigantic gap in some areas. In the ranking of today's 100 highest-paid athletes on Forbes, there is just one woman - tennis star Serena Williams.

Thus, unsurprisingly the question of 'is the gender gap really closing?' is more contested than ever.

There is little doubt that progress is being made in some areas, but for every step forward, there appears to be one or two taken back.

Football is one of the worst offenders, with the women's World Cup winners only getting £2m, compared to the men, who win £35m.

However, football is hardly alone in this; the male winner of golf's US Open pockets twice as much as their female counterpart, while the winners of the men's cricket World Cup are given £3.1m, compared to just £470,500 for the victorious women's side.

The bigger question here is how do we change this culture, and bridge the gender pay gap in sport?

How do we improve this?
women in football

Fiona Hathorn, managing director of advocacy group Women on Boards told the BBC that it is a clear case of 'much done, but far more to do' for women in sport.

She said: "We are making progress, but it is happening at a glacial pace."

The PlayOJO's study survey revealed that 40% of those surveyed sighted a difference in quality and skill as the main reason for the disparity.

However, simple logic suggests that such gigantic disparities cannot be explained by this alone.

Surely, if both were promoted with the same vigour then the gap would close?

This has already been proven in a number of sports - MMA is the perfect example of this - that equal promotion can equate to a higher interest in the women's discipline.

Ivan Peter Khodabakhsh, chief executive of the Ladies European Tour in golf, reckons that challenging the current perception is the way forward.

He told The Telegraph: "More needs to be done from a social perspective to improve the perception of women's sport and the financial rewards."

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Thibaut Courtois in action for Chelsea on May 6, 2018
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