Posted: April 30th, 2022

Women salaries in WNBA vs. Men in the NBA

Women salaries in WNBA vs. Men in the NBA

It is clearly apparent that women in the workforce industry have come a long way. Over twenty years ago, women were considered legible or qualified for workplace positions like managers’ accountants and chief executive officers. In 2020 a study conducted showed that more than 20% of companies in the United States of America had managers that were women. The employment sector has grown and started embracing women for a certain position previously considered too much for a woman to handle. Although companies are embracing women, the economic sector has yet to change. There are visible discrepancies between women salaries and that of the men. Studies conducted showed that when a similar task was performed between a man and a woman, the man was more likely to receive higher compensation. Currently, the pay gap is especially appalling as the economy has been affected by the Covid 19 pandemic. Under the women’s national laws, the largest number of people affected economically by the pandemic are women. Women make up a very larger percentage in the workforce and labor department. Women have been receiving layoff from their places of work more than men. A conclusive 70% of servers working in restaurants are women. With restaurant and social establishments closing, the evidence of women’s economic disparity is unequivocal. It has been over five years since the equal pay act was signed in the United States of America, and women still earn less than men. In fact, the pay gap is now very much uneven in certain working fields. In 2018 women working in America earned as little as 81.6 cents to every dollar earned by a man working the same hours.
The National basketball association, famously known as the (NBA) is an all men basketball player company. The women national basketball association (WNBA) is a basketball playing team for women in the United States of America. While the women’s national basketball association (WNBA) team has attained a higher success rate than the National basketball association, it is shocking to note that NBA players still earn more. The pay gap between the NBA and WNBA is obvious and disconcerting as these two professions are very similar. The only difference between these two teams is that they are of different genders. An NBA player earns an average salary of 820000$ a year while a WNBA woman earns an annual salary of 750000$. This is a discrepancy of more than a tenth of that of the NBA players. The statistics get even crazier when you consider that NBA players earn close to 2.5million $ while the WNBA earns 116000 million $. The highest-paid NBA player earns close to 7.5 million while the WNBA top player receives an $ 116000 million
salary.
Studies conducted showed that the main reason for the pay discrepancies between the WNBA players and the NBA players was viewership. Sports business journals noted that the NBA player’s viewership was close to 1.2 million, while the WMBA player was considerably lower. This, as explained by the league, was the main reason the salary inconsistencies were so high. The reasons were further explained to the fact that the WNBA got lower broadcast payments compared to that the NBA players got. It is a common known fact that the NBA can make up to 15% more money than the WNBA players (Lerae, pp., 175). What makes the WNBA players better than the NBA players is that the NBA players thrive in their goals and have a deeper cause for their games. This earns them the appreciation of their fan base. The gender pay gap discrimination in the WNBA players and the NBA players at times vanishes. This pay gap, however, never ends. Additionally, the highest NBA player Steph Curry earns more than three times what all the WMBA players combined earn. The substantial pay gap in the basketball profession has been raising questions. The reasons given for these inconsistencies fail to make this gap fair. It is common knowledge that women to men pay gaps in sports are experienced in all sports (Honey, pp., 545).
Both the WNBA players and the NBA players signed a negotiating agreement with the league. This agreement allows them to ask for salary increment when deemed necessary. It is also worth noting that the NBA players have been teaming up with WMBA players so as to demand equal pay. This deal also gives the female players in the WMBA improved benefits during pregnancies, Better accommodations when traveling, and extended player programs. The expanded player programs are funds added for further education, and any extra training players may require.
The agreement made between the league and the WMBA and NBA players also ensured that each player received a salary increment. This agreement goes on to question what percentage of revenue will be allocated to players. How will the pay gap be fixed if all parties are receiving an increment in their salaries? We all must note that for the first time in the WNBA history, the players’ compensations will surpass an average of $ 130000. This means that if new players are added to the WNBA in the next year. I say 156 new players were introduced, and each player got an average of $ 130000. The total revenue will face an increment of $ 20,280000. If the supposed revenue goes up to say 40 Million dollars, an estimated 50% revenue would be used. Put, if the agreement goes through, the WNBA players will still receive less in revenue than their NBA male colleagues.
Some people may ask why the gender pay gap policies in the WMBA and the NBA are a problem. The gender pay gap is a problem as it is a form of discrimination. It also lessens the economic productivity. This generally means that women are likely to become dependents on welfare and assistance in their older age. For many years there have been fights against the discrimination on salary discrepancies between the people of color and whites in the United States. Removing such inconsistencies is not just a gender fight but everyone’s fight. For many years, sports were considered to be a man’s game and field of expertise. It took decades for society to concede to women participating in sports both for fun and as careers (Hailey, 2020)
Although the gender pay gap is not as it used to be, it still needs modification. There have been many suggested ways of reducing and completely obliterating the issue of gender pay gaps. Some of these issues include (Smith-Doerr et al., pp., 556). Salary transparency would be tough for employers to make salary adjustments if everyone was honest and open about their pay. This leaves no room for unfairness in the salary department. Sharing salary information is protected by the law. An employee may not be fired for divulging this information freely. Appointing divers managers, having managers understand what issues pay gaps to bring will make companies or places of employment, consider reducing this gap. Promoting salary negotiations, when an employee feels that the salary does not match the labor or the profits, it makes sense to promote an environment that allows salary negotiation to take place.
Knowing the law, when a person strives to know their rights, becomes harder for them to be oppressed. The law protects all employees as well as employers. Therefore, both these parties must know their rights and find ways to exercise them. Introducing transparency to workplace promotions, when an employee is promoted in a working environment, it is only fair and right to divulge this information to other employees. Total transparency should be exercised. Fights of gender pay gaps have been going on since 1997. The House of Representatives introduced an act that made it illegal to pay men more than women for the same jobs (David, 2011). This means that if a particular work or assignment took the same amount of effort, then the pay should be equal between the people performing the task. This bill would also act to ensure that employers did not threaten employees for disclosing their salaries. The wage discrepancies more often than not disrupt the productivity of employees in an organization. Employees paid less do not feel the need to work as hard as or harder than their counterparts. Hence permanently closing these gaps will lead to better performance in women.

References

Ettienne, Lerae. “It’s Time to Pay up, the Justification for Higher Salaries for WNBA Players: An Analysis of the WNBA’s Success and Employing Mediation between the WNBA and NBA to Leverage Future Success.” Pepp. Disp. Resol. LJ 19 (2019): 175.
Campbell, Honey. “Superior Play, Unequal Pay: US Women’s Soccer and the Pursuit for Pay Equity.” USFL Rev. 51 (2017): 545.
DiCicco, Hailey. “Hoop Dreams: An Empirical Analysis of the Gender Wage Gap in Professional Basketball.” (2020).
Perfect, David. Gender pay gaps. Manchester: Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2011.
Smith-Doerr, Laurel, et al. “Gender pay gaps in US federal science agencies: An organizational approach.” American Journal of Sociology 125.2 (2019): 534-576.

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