Not Even Single Women in Forbes' Top 100 Richest Athletes List Points Out Grim Reality of Gender Pay Disparity in Sports
Although there are a number of sports tournaments that pay men and women an equal prize money, the list shows how the change is still very slow to come by.
Gender pay disparity has been a big topic of discussion, more so at a global level. Ever since the UK government issued a legislation to all companies to reveal the gender pay gap, it became a more important discussion everywhere. While some companies are making efforts to reduce the pay gap and give equal pay to both the genders, it still remains the desired situation. The situation of payment disparity becomes more evident in the field of sports as for the first time in 8 years there is not even a single women athlete in Forbes' list of the world's 100 highest-earning sports stars. Retired boxer Floyd Mayweather is topping the list.
The magazine expanded the list in the year 2010 and from then at least one female star has made it among the usually male-dominated list. Last year, Tennis player Serena Williams was the only female star who was at the 51st spot. This time Williams was one a break owing to her pregnancy and maternity leave. Her off-court earnings of $18 million (£13.4m) were not enough to get her in 2018's top 100.
Although there are a number of sports tournaments that pay men and women an equal prize money, the list shows how the change is still very slow to come by. A huge disparity still remains as not a single woman athlete qualifies as compared to the males. Forbes' earnings figures include all prize money, salaries and bonuses earned between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018. It also adds the endorsement incomes for the same period. Mayweather is used to the top title in years. He has been the highest paid four times in last seven years. Iceland Becomes First Country to Legalize Equal Pay, Plans to Eradicate Gender Pay Gap by 2022
While Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes' senior editor says that Serena Williams' endorsements are although enough to get her on the list. He told CNN Sport, "Her endorsement earnings would put her up in the top 10 in the world. She just hasn't any prize money to go with that. I expect once Serena is back on the court and raking up those millions in prize money we'll see her back on the list next year."
Leaving Williams aside, it still points out that there is no other women athlete in close competition other than tennis players Maria Sharapova and Li Na. The sad state of compensation is very much prevalent in the gender pay in the field of sports. The corporate world is embroiled in the gender disparity and UK is implementing solutions to reduce the pay gap. While males take away the top position and also higher salaries, Indonesia has a reverse situation. Women in Indonesia are paid more than men in the overall company situation. While sports is a more comprehensive field with different games, it is sad to see women being so left behind when it comes to payment or rewards for their performance. We sure have some world-class female athletes in each of the sports but the condition is definitely sad.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 06, 2018 08:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).