On July 5th, 2015, the United States Women’s National Soccer Team was set to face off against the defending world champions, Japan, at BC Place in Vancouver, during the World Cup Final. After a brief 16 minutes into the 90-minute match, the United States had taken a commanding 4-0 lead over Japan. In the end, the United States had won 5-2, and this victory marked their third World Cup title, which is the most wins by any female team. America’s captain Carli Lloyd not only had a goal from half field, but she also had the fastest hat trick in the women’s tournament ever.

Yet even with all these accomplishments, the women’s team was still severely underpaid compared to the earnings of the men’s teams in the tournament the year before. Even though the women’s team were the new world champions, they received a pitiful payout of two million dollars compared to that of the nine million-dollar paychecks that the men’s teams received after losing in the round of sixteen, just a year prior. (nbcsports) The 2015 women’s game was the most watched soccer match ever in the United States, with about 25.4 million viewers, yet only about six to eight percent of all media coverage is dedicated to women’s sports. (ussoccer) Similarly, in college sports, universities spend approximately 33 percent of their scholarship budgets, 16 percent of their recruiting budgets, and 24 percent of their whole athletic budgets dedicated to women’s sports. (athleteassesments) These examples ranging from the number of opportunities, to salaries, to media coverage, emphasize the unfair inequalities in sports between males and females. So, this raises the question, how is this fair?

The roots of inequalities between men and women’s athletic started before 1972, when just one in twenty-seven girls played sports. To help address this problem and other issues arising with gender, the government passed Title IX in 1972. Title IX states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Title IX requires for the same number of sport opportunities for boys and girls, and since the passing of this law, now two in every five girls play sports. However, the number of opportunities in sports for girls and women, is not the only problem they face in athletics today. For example, women must play under different circumstances, female athletes are sexualized, and they are not equally represented by the media. Also, female athletes are forced to deal with a tremendous lopsided pay gap at the professional level. These problems arise in the high school level and are present all the way up into the highest level of professional sports. Even government legislation, like Title IX, have not successfully addressed these issues.
Even though the pay gap is non-existent at the high school level of play, female athletes both in high school and the professional level still are faced with the problem of playing under different circumstances and conditions. For example, in high school boys’ lacrosse, the players must wear helmets and shoulder pads, while female lacrosse player only wear goggles for eye protection, but nothing for their heads or shoulders. The reason for the difference in amount of protective gear is because in boys’ play, they are permitted to shove each other, and they can hit the other team with their sticks. However, in girls’ play, if the payers shove or hit each other with their sticks, it is a foul. In boys’ lacrosse, there is a high level of aggressiveness; yet in girls’ lacrosse, when the females try to be aggressive, as a natural part of this contact sport they will be penalized. Is this because girls are still viewed as weak and lesser than the male gender? Similar differences in required equipment or rules can be found in golf, basketball, and tennis.
Female athletes having to perform under different conditions also occurs at the professional level. For instance, during the 2015 Women’s World Cup every game was played on artificial turf; however, just a year prior, all the games during the Men’s World Cup was played on grass. Interestingly enough, no major tournament – including the prestigious World Cup – for the men has ever been played on turf.
According to Cat Whitehill, a former US Women’s National team player (2000-2010) and Fox Sport analyst, playing on artificial turf is hard on the body, which requires players to need a longer recovery time, and it causes turf burn. (Wall Street Journal, YouTube) Also, artificial turf is made from recycled tires, so during gameplay, at the 2015 World Cup, the fields could have reached upwards to 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

Furthermore, turf affects the overall game play. Tony DiCicco, the former coach for the US Women’s National/Olympic Team and is currently a Fox Sport analyst. He has pointed out that when the turf gets wet, the gameplay really accelerates. Also, he said that on the turf, the ball never bounces consistently, as it does on a well-manicured grass field.

Such challenging differences between grass and turf lead to important questions: Could the 2015 World Cup have been played on turf because of the players’ genders? Could the difference in playing surfaces have directly affected the players’ ability to score and the ultimate outcome of the game. Federation International Football Association (FIFA) responded to these questions by saying, “The FIFA Executive Committee’s decision to approve the proposal by the Canadian Soccer Association and its NOC to play the competition on football turf was not based in any way on gender… there is no significant difference in overall incidence, severity, nature, or cause of match or training injuries sustained.” (Wall Street Journal, YouTube) However, the second part of this statement has proven to be false considering that playing on artificial turf can cause players turf burns; such injuries cannot be acquired by playing on a grass field. Whether or not rules and committee decisions play a major role in the problem, females are still performing under different conditions to their male counterparts.
Unequal provisions for safety gear and playing sites are not the only problems female athletes must face. Women in sports are also sexualized, with no regard to their dignity or personal values. For example, websites like The Richest, The Athletic Build, and Men’s Fitness, just to name a few, have created lists ranking female athletes based on their looks, and not focusing on their skills. “Number 17 – Kelly Cartwright, some of you may not realize this, but women who have prosthetic legs can be sexy too…” (therichest) “Michelle Jenneke – Track and Field, known as the "Dancing Hurdler," this brunette has racked up tens of millions of YouTube viewers. One reason why: "Shelly" sure knows how to rock a bikini.” (muscleandfitness) These quotes show that so many people, including male athletes themselves, value female athletes’ appearance over their skills. Focusing attention on attributes not related to their athletic skills is upsetting and degrading for women in sports.

Female athletes are also severely underrepresented in the media compared to their male counterparts. For example, in a 25-yearlong study called “It’s Dude Time” conducted by researchers at both Perdue University and the University of Southern California showed that “L.A.-based network affiliate sports news programs devoted only 3.2% of broadcast time to women’s sports.” (womenssportsfoundation) Also found in this study was the fact that none of the highlights and news stories had a lead story on female sports. It was also discovered that 75% of all the stories focused on men’s basketball, baseball, and football, even if those sports weren’t in season. (womenssportsfoundation) Many people believe the reason females are not equally represented in the media is because of a lack of public interest. However, in recent research published by TicketMaster and Nielsen Sports, it said, “Three in five responders agreed that female sports are “on the rise,” and that 46% would watch a women’s sporting event if it was on television.” (womenssportsfoundation) In the past, there were few female athletes because they stayed home to care for their children; thus, the lack of organized female athletics resulted in few opportunities for women in sports to capture public attention in the media. However, today female athletes make up 40% of all athletes; therefore, women in sports should be equally represented in the media along with their male counterparts.
There are countless problems that female athletes are forced to deal with; however, the most prevalent of these challenges is the pay differential at the professional level. For instance, according to Forbes, “The top ten highest-paid female athletes last year together earned a combined $105 million. Three of the top-earning male athletes… each earned more than $105 million last year.” Forbes also said “It’s estimated that NBA basketball players earn 100 times the salaries of their female WNBA counterparts.” These statistics help to show how tremendously lopsided the pay gap is between male and female athletes. Women in sports should not be paid less than their male counterparts just because of their gender. To try and fight this to earn equal pay, members on the US Women’s National Soccer Team recently filed a discrimination lawsuit against U.S. Soccer to try and receive pay that is equitable to the men’s salaries. Using the court system, female athletes are trying to achieve equal pay for equal skills and work. This is just another example of the numerous problems women in athletics have to face to try and create equal footing with the men.

Ever since women began playing sports, they have faced different challenges and hardships because of their gender. For example, female athletes are often forced to play under different conditions and circumstances, such as the contrasting rules and difference in safety gear in boys’ and girls’ lacrosse. Even more significant is the fact that the US Women’s National Soccer Team had to play the World Cup on turf, even though the men’s teams have always played on grass surfaces. On a personal level, women in sports are also sexualized, even to the point where the media and sometimes male sports figures create lists ranking female athletes on their appearance and not their skills. Female athletes also receive a significantly less amount of media time and attention devoted to them and their achievements. Finally, there is an immense pay gap between male athletes and their female counterparts, that has originated simply because of gender differences. Males and females are equal, so why are women in sports treated poorly and less respectfully than their male counterparts just because of a difference in gender?