Should salaries be equal for male and female athletes?

There are a lot of athletes in this world - both male and female athletes - competing for our entertainment. However, even though a few people know famous female athletes, a lot of people think of male athletes when it comes to sports. For example, if someone asks us to name football players, which players would come into your mind? Most people would answer Ronaldo, Messi, or even Son. But most of them won’t name the female athletes who worked just as hard as the male ones. Just because of the audience’s pickiness and preferences, a lot of companies give male athletes higher salaries than female athletes. Even though some say that this is fair, since the male athletes get a lot more attention, I disagree. I believe that salaries should be equal for male and female athletes because equal work should result in equal pay, and it will also create more female role models.

Firstly, I think salaries should be equal for both male and female athletes because equal work should receive equal payment. Since both of them are doing the same job and putting the same effort, they should be paid equally. Being a female athlete is a hard job, since you have to go through a lot of harsh training, make tremendous sacrifices, and show the same level of dedication as the male athletes do. This effort and commitment are the same for both men and women, so the pay should be equal. The U.S. women’s soccer team won two world cups while men historically failed to make an impact. However, even though this was the case, since the male players got more fame, they got more money than the female athletes. For example, in FIFPRO, 40% of female football players at the women’s World Cup are professional, 35% are amateurs, 16% are semi-professional. 29% of players received no pay, and 60% had to take unpaid leave to take part in World Cup qualifiers. Also, the average monthly salary of female players in D1 France is between 1,300 and 1,600 Euros, which means that players earning below 1,300 Euros have to have another job except being an athlete. So female athletes lead up to having another job, just in order to survive. This is not fair, as the female athletes are working as hard as the male athletes, but are not being rewarded for it.

Secondly, I think it would be better if male and female athletes have equal salaries because it will create more female role models. Of course, this isn’t that important, but in the athletes’ case, it would have made their day. Male and female athletes actually share a huge message about gender equality. Providing equal opportunities without looking at their gender would be helpful. Even though a lot of people don’t notice, different genders motivate different people. So if little girls see that the women athletes are getting treated respectfully and with much care, they might take the chance and say that they want to be an athlete like that person too.

In conclusion, I believe that there should be more female athletes because equal work is equal pay, and there could be a lot more female role models in the world. Even if inequality has ended, things like this are still happening around the world. In the future, I hope all of the inequalities will end. That way, everyone could have a happier life.