Inequality in Advertising: How a Lack of Marketing Intensifies the Women’s Sports Pay Gap

Anya Alvarez, a former professional women’s golfer turned writer stated in an article published in The Guardian, “I thought the main issue in women’s sports was equal pay. I was wrong“ (Alvarez 2019). The salary gap has been an issue that has haunted women’s sports for decades yet continues to in today’s day and age. The minimum salary currently held by an NBA player is a contract worth roughly $341,831.00, while the maximum is worth about $40,231,758.00. In comparison, the minimum contracts in the WNBA began at about $41,965.00, and the maximum salaries were about $113,500.00 (ESPN 2019). Think about that major difference for a moment, and while it is easy to think that’s the main issue, in reality it is only one aspect of a larger problem. While this topic is of much discussion, it is purely a symptom of the overarching problem that has contributed to this issue. As a matter of fact, the key problem happens to be the lack of advertising, exposure, and marketing efforts put into women’s sports that has further led to issues such as the wage gap becoming prevalent.

The Current Situation

It’s apparent that people in today’s society seem to pay more attention to men’s sports over women’s. This is arguably due to poor marketing and minimal media coverage of women’s sports. A big issue is that brands remain hesitant to invest in women’s professional sports. Charlotte Rogers, an author for MarketingWeek, explains a study conducted in 2011-2013 that found female sports account for only 0.4% of total sports sponsorship. To get a better picture, global sports sponsorship was worth $106.8 billion dollars during those years, but only $427.2 million was invested in women’s sport (Rogers 2018). Unequal marketing of women’s sports has led to a major wage gap between male and female athletes. Male athletes tend to receive a much higher salary than their female counterparts. An example of the wage gap can be seen in 2023s Women’s World Cup. FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that the Women’s World Cup in 2023 will double its total prize money to $60 million. This may seem like a great advance for women’s sports, but the 2022 Men’s World Cup has assigned $440 million in prize compensation, not including bonuses supplied by national associations (Lebel 2019). Another example of the pay discrimination happened in 2014 and 2015. In 2014, the United States Soccer Federation issued a total of $5,375,000 in performance bonuses to the men’s national soccer team despite losing in the sixteenth round. In 2015, the women’s national team received only $1,725,000 after winning the whole tournament (Lebel 2019). Part of the problem with the current situation is the existence of what is known as gender-bland sexism which occurs when “sports commentators downplay the accomplishments of female athletes and convey less excitement about big wins or milestones” (Cooky 2017). With issues of this nature plaguing the industry, accomplishments and accolades earned by female athletes are often downplayed, and considered to be of “less importance” therefore drawing less coverage, and engagement by fans and companies. With trends such as these seen today, it is very difficult for female athletes to remain confident and engaged with their sport and organization as they may feel that their efforts are not being valued, damaging their morale, and pride in their craft. To put a stop to these trends in their tracks and prevent these from taking deeper roots, the possibility of this becoming a further issue, measures must be taken now.

The Root of the Problem

In the context of female athletics, traditional gender roles and the behavioral expectations prove to be a large barrier in promoting one’s individual brand. According to social role theory, “the limitations women encounter are often based on society’s expectations of gender roles and desirable behavioral tendencies for each gender” (Lobpries, Bennett, & Brison 2018). The notion associated with traditional gender roles that women should be sympathetic, kind, nurturing, and gentle often clashes with a common trend in an athlete’s personal brand, the promotion of confidence, strength, and assertiveness. Women who display these aforementioned traits “may be seen as having the masculine characteristics of dominance and arrogance, thereby, defying traditional gender norms” (Lobpries, Bennett, & Brison 2018). Additionally, when characteristics of leadership are only associated with masculine traits, the personal brand of female athletes suffers. If the world continues to be a place of “gendered appropriateness,” sports will always be viewed as a male domain dominated by male characteristics and any “female athletes who do not adhere to hyper-feminine and hyper-heterosexual behaviors risk scrutiny, stigmatization, and consequences in building their brand” (Lobpries, Bennett, & Brison 2018).

Solutions

The majority of sports editors are white men, and they make up 90% of editors. Women only make up for about 10% of sport marketers and editors. One solution includes hiring and training more women as sports editors and marketers. Women marketers may more likely be inspired to market more women athletes as well as develop new ideas. Men should be more aware that this is an issue in today’s world. Men’s support would add to awareness of this issue and shouldn’t be the only ones in this work field. Having a better balance among marketers might make the playing field more equal (Shira, 2019). Another potential solution is with the increase in performance seen in women’s sports, there is much greater potential for coverage and marketability as seen with the Women’s English Netballers. Due to their success, the CEO of English Netball Joanna Adams finds that, “there are more opportunities for us to go and speak to brands. Their doors are more open and they’re more welcoming for us to go and speak to, we don’t have to explain who we are anymore, people know who we are.” (Baxter 2019) England is a prime example of a nation that is strongly pushing women’s sports. The women’s professional soccer league has experienced an increase in their marketability completely rebranding themselves, and has been able to grow every year receiving far more coverage since signing a multi-million deal with Barclays worth 500,000 Euros as the prize money for the league champions. Kelly Simmons, the director of the league stated that, the deal will “help to move the league and clubs closer to sustainability: It’s a really important step, because it’s not only about the revenue they are investing but it’s about the investment in helping to market the game too” (Wrack 2019). In conclusion, many issues still plaguing women’s sports are symptoms of the overall arching problem in relation to a lack of marketing and coverage. Ways in which the playing field can be leveled are through raising awareness, more brand involvement, and far more sponsorships, especially since the level of performance is at a very high level. In return, there are endless opportunities for growth in these leagues, and much more exposure for brands willing to sponsor them.

Written by: Anthony Alvarez, Lauren Bugni, Ryan Evans, Erin Fend