Timeline of the gender pay gap in sports

Serena Williams, the highest paid female athlete in 2017. Tennis has offered equal prize money at the four Grand Slams since 2007.[1]

This is a timeline of the gender pay gap in sports, spanning from the 20th century to the 21st century. It includes the major events that resulted in the equal pay of male and female athletes in varying sports across the world. The first major event that got publicity about the gender pay gap in sports was with Billie Jean King at the Italian Open in 1970.[2] The passing of Title IX in 1972 generated a wave of female participation in athletics, as well as increased funding for female sports. Following their win of the 2015 FIFA World Cup, the US Women's Soccer Team highlighted gender discrimination in sport and brought about another movement towards achieving equal pay in sports.[3]

20th century

1970s

1970 – Billie Jean King was awarded $600, while her male counterpart, Ilie Nastase, was awarded $3,500 at the Italian Open.[2]

1972 – Billie Jean King was awarded $10,000, while Ilie Nastase was awarded $25,000 at the US Open.[2]

1972 – Richard Nixon's administration passed Title IX. Title IX protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of sex.[4]

1973 – Billie Jean King threatened to boycott the US Open due to unequal pay; US Open becomes the first Grand Slam to offer equal prize money.[5]

1980s

1989 – The International Triathlon Union began paying equal prize money to men and women in every race.[6]

1990s

1995 – Australian Open stopped giving equal prize money due to a lack of interest in women's tennis.[5]

21st century

2000s

2001 – Australian Open reinstated equal pay.[5]

2006 – World Archery began to offer equal prize money to male and female athletes.[7]

2007 – Venus Williams becomes the first women's Wimbledon champion to earn as much as the men's champion, Roger Federer.[8]

2007 – Wimbledon agrees to equal pay, which meant that all four Grand Slams would give out equal prize money to male and female competitors.[9]

2010s

2014 – Le Tour de France offered La Course, which is a women's event that offers the same prize money as a man does for winning the Tour.[6]

2015 – US Women's Soccer Team won the 2015 FIFA World Cup and collectively received $6 million dollars less than the US Men's Soccer Team, which lost in the first round of knockouts.[3]

2016 – After their 2015 FIFA World Cup win, five members of the US Women's Soccer Team (Carli Loyd, Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Becky Sauerbrunn) filed a wage discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the US Soccer Federation.[1]

2016 – Surfers Andrea Moller, Bianca Valenti, Keala Kennelly, Paige Alms, Karen Tynan, and Sabrina Brennan, founded the Commission for Equity in Women's Surfing. It aims to increase the number of events and number of awards for women, as well as offer equal prize money.[9]

2017 – Norway Football Federation agrees deal to pay male and female international footballers equally[10]

2017 – The US Women's National Hockey Team threatened to boycott the World Championship over a wage dispute with US Hockey.[11] About a week later, the US Women's National Hockey Team agreed to a four-year deal with US Hockey, which guaranteed fair pay and the same benefits that the US Men's National Hockey Team receives.[12]

2017 – Members of the Republic of Ireland National Women's football team threaten to go on strike over the lack of financial remuneration for players on international duty and access to adequate facilities.[13]

2018 – No women were listed in Forbes 100 highest paid athletes.[14]

2018 – New Zealand's men and women national football teams receive equal pay and working conditions under a new collective bargaining agreement.[15]

2018 – World Surf League announced that it would provide equal prize money to the male and female athletes in all of their events, starting in 2019.[16]

2018 – Women's National Basketball Players Association opted out of their collective bargaining agreement.[17]

2018 – On International Women's Day, the International Olympic Committee announced their proposal of the Gender Equality Review Project, which outlined 25 recommendations to achieve gender equality in sports. Three of them were related to funding.[6]

2019 – Equal Employment Opportunity Commission allowed members of the US Women's Soccer Team to sue since no progress had been made with the US Soccer Federation.[5]

2019 – On International Women's Day, 28 members of the US Women's Soccer Team filed a lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation stating that the players faced gender-based discrimination in almost every aspect of their employment.[18]

2020s

2020 – WNBA players received a 53% raise, paid maternity leave and fertility benefits, and improved travel conditions.[19]

2020 – The FA confirms that the England women's and men's national football teams receive the same pay.[20]

2020 – Brazilian Football Confederation announced that men and women will be paid the same amount for representing the national team.[21]

2021 – An equal pay deal with the FAI means players of the Republic of Ireland Women's football team will receive the same pay as players of the Republic of Ireland Men's football team.[22]

2022 – The U.S. Soccer Federation agreed to an equal pay deal with both the women’s and men's national soccer team.[23]

2023 – An equal pay deal with the FAW means players of the Wales Women's football team will receive the same pay as players of the Wales Men's football team.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b "U.S. Women's Soccer Team Members File Federal Equal-Pay Complaint". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  2. ^ a b c "Equal pay for equal play. What the sport of tennis got right". PBS NewsHour. 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  3. ^ a b Ohikuare, Judith. "A Look At The Gender Pay Gap In Sports History". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  4. ^ Romano, Tricia (2019-08-15). "Score! An Exhaustive History of Pay Gap Wins Brought to You by the US Women's National Soccer Team - The Riveter Score! Pay Gap Wins Brought to you by the U.S. Women's Soccer Team". The Riveter. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  5. ^ a b c d "A Brief History of Unequal Pay in Women's Sports". InHerSight.com. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  6. ^ a b c Cross, Kim (2018-09-13). "Equal Prize Money for Women Is Great—But It's Only Half the Story". Outside Online. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  7. ^ "Prize money in sport - BBC Sport study". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  8. ^ Source, The Reliable. "How Venus Williams got equal pay for women at Wimbledon". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  9. ^ a b "The Fight for Equal Pay in Women's Sports". Women's Sports Foundation. 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  10. ^ "Norway FA agrees deal to pay male and female international footballers equally". The Guardian. Reuters. 2017-10-07. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  11. ^ "U.S. women's hockey team threatens boycott over wages". NBC News. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  12. ^ Garcia, Ahiza (2017-03-28). "Women's national team agrees to 4-year deal with USA Hockey". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  13. ^ "Sharing tracksuits and changing in toilets - Irish women's team hit out at treatment as FAI respond with statement". Independent.ie. 2017-04-04. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  14. ^ Badenhausen, Kurt. "Full List: The World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2018". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  15. ^ Hyslop, Liam (2018-05-09). "New Zealand's national soccer teams get equal pay, working conditions". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  16. ^ "Equal Pay For Equal Shreds: World Surf League Will Award Same Prizes To Men And Women". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  17. ^ "WNBPA opts out of CBA to begin negotiations for better pay, conditions, marketing". sports.yahoo.com. November 2018. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  18. ^ "U.S. Women's Soccer Team Sues U.S. Soccer For Gender Discrimination". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  19. ^ Young, Jabari (2020-01-14). "WNBA agrees to 53% pay raise, maternity benefits for players in new collective bargaining agreement". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  20. ^ Taylor, Louise (2020-09-03). "England women's and men's teams receive same pay, FA reveals". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  21. ^ "Brazil announce equal pay for women and men's teams". RTÉ. 3 Sep 2020. Retrieved 1 Aug 2023.
  22. ^ Fallon, John (31 Aug 2021). "Ireland women's players to receive €2,000 per match in equal pay deal with FAI". Irish Examiner. p. 1. Retrieved 1 Aug 2023.
  23. ^ "U.S. Soccer, USWNTPA, And USNSTPA Will Officially Sign Historic New Collective Bargaining Agreements On The Field Post-Game Following The USA Vs. Nigeria Match In Washington D.C." 26 Aug 2022. Retrieved 3 Dec 2024.
  24. ^ Taylor, Harry (2023-01-18). "Wales's men's and women's football teams to get equal pay after deal agreed". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-08-01.