Should professional sports organizations pay their male and female athletes the same?

Until relatively recently, professional sports teams and leagues were limited to men. With the passage of Title IX in 1972, which prohibited discrimination based on sex in sports, female professional athletes became more visible and more vocal. While many women’s sports have not yet gained the following and sponsorship money of men’s teams, advocates for gender equity say it is time for female professional athletes to earn the same salaries and benefits as their male counterparts. Should female athletes receive equal pay for equal play?

investigate

Equal Pay For Equal Shreds: World Surf League Will Award Same Prizes To Men And Women

Read

Federal Judge Dismisses U.S. Women's Soccer Team's Equal Pay Claim

Read

Additional resources to think about

Equal Pay for Equal Play: What the Sport of Tennis Got Right
In this article from PBS NewsHour, read how tennis began paying male and female athletes equal prize money, but gender equity continues to be an issue beyond compensation.

Inside the fight for equal pay for female athletes
The Los Angeles Times talks to iconic female athletes about gender disparity in sports.

U.S. Soccer Says Women Don't Deserve Equal Pay Because They Have Less Skill
The U.S. Soccer Federation's counter argument to the players' equal pay demands are outlined in this article from Forbes.

Report finds strides made in women's sports in past few years, but inequality remains
Read an overview from ESPN about the advances and setbacks in pay equity across various sports.

contemplate

Who created this message?

What kind of “text” is it?
How similar or different is it to others of the same genre?
What are the various elements (building blocks) that make up the whole?

What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?

What do you notice (about the way the message is constructed)?
What’s the emotional appeal?
What makes it seem “real?”
What's the emotional appeal? Persuasive devices used?

How might different people understand this message differently from me?

How many other interpretations could there be?
How could we hear about them?
How can you explain the different responses?

What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?

What type of person is the reader/watcher/listener invited to identify with?
What ideas or perspectives are left out?
How would you find what’s missing?
What judgments or statements are made about how we treat other people?

Why is this message being sent?

What's being sold in this message? What's being told?
Who is served by or benefits from the message
– the public?
– private interests?
– individuals?
– institutions?

5 Key Questions of Media Literacy used with permission from the Center for Media Literacy.
Copyright 2002-2021, Center for Media Literacy, www.medialit.com

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