Over the last decade, anti-poverty efforts in developing countries have shifted to a greater
emphasis on gender-based approaches, including attaining equality and inclusion through
gender-oriented program innovation. Even though much improvement has been made in
recent years, men continue to outnumber women in paid employment in almost every
developing country, with women working in more informal and precarious economic
positions than men. The readings from “Reassessing Paid Work and Women’s
Empowerment; Lessons from the Global Economy’’: the author spoked about how feminists
emphasized the importance of women’s paid employment. The author also highlighted on
how feminist tradition discussed women’s conditions of services in the job field especially
issues or concerns relating to “equal pay, opportunities for promotion training and
progression through the hierarchy, flexible hours and leave, protection of reproduction health,
freedom from harassment, appropriate non- wage benefit be recognized by both trade unions
and management’’(Pearson, Ruth. 2007).
The issue of unequal pay or pay discrimination, especially against women, is common in
soccer. This made me think about the lawsuit the U.S. women's national soccer team filed
against the U.S. Soccer Federation over pay discrimination. It is sad to know how equal work
results in unequal compensation. For instance, when the U.S. men's national team loses in a
friendly match, each player is paid $5000, while the women's team receives nothing for even
a draw. Similarly, when the men's team wins, they receive as much as $17,625, while the
women receive only $ 1,350.
Meanwhile, the women's team brings more glory in a competitive tournament for the nation
than the men. In 2011, when the women's team placed second in their world cup tournament,
they were awarded $1.8 million, which was shared equally among the 24 players, while the
men's team, who made it to the round of 16 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa,
were awarded $5 million. In addition to this happening at the federation level, FIFA, which
oversees soccer, does not pay women the same as men. A classic example is Germany's men's
team, which won the 2014 World Cup. The team was awarded $35 million by FIFA, while
the women received only 5% of that for their women's world cup victory in 2015.
Source: Time
The controversy
surrounding equal pay in soccer also illuminates various conceptions of
fairness. Men's matches produce significantly more revenue than women's
matches, which are frequently in the red. During a men's tournament, retailers
are more likely to increase garden furniture sales, Barbeque accessories, and
sunscreen. Men soccer players endure intense competition and must work harder
to reach the top. The massive publicity also results in increased pressure.
Some claim that the men's game is simply more appealing; they run quicker and
are more potent than women, making their matches more intense.
Does this
justify the huge salary discrepancy between male and female footballers,
particularly on the national team?
How do we bridge
that gap to ensure equity and fairness?
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