Slammed and dunked.
April 17, 2024
Another in a series of observations of life as I know it.
Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all. But right now we're seeing that even if you're the best, women are not paid their fair share. Women must be paid what they deserve.
-President Joe Biden
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Let’s talk money, shall we? And although I still adhere to the old school theory that one should not discuss one’s salary in polite company, I am gonna change my tune. I remember distinctly when women earned 79 cents on the dollar. Trust me, the ratio had been lower for years until women entered C suites, but still were vastly undervalued. It’s a thing. Estrogen=Inequality. I know for a fact that my yearly remuneration was calculated differently from my male colleagues. It just was. Also promotions were affected by gender. I was the next logical candidate for a higher level job. I didn’t get it. When I politely inquired why, my editor had the balls to tell me that the guy being promoted was “a family man with mouths to feed”. Wait, what? The top brass didn’t even try to reframe the conversation by blaming my qualifications or lack thereof. Nope. A man got the raise because…he was a male. It’s all about chromosomes.
So here’s the latest glaring inequity. Caitlin Clark is the #1 draft pick in the WNBA. For her trouble, she’ll get a whopping $75k annually. Fortunately, Caitlin can expect to rent a reasonably nice one bedroom apartment in the city of Indianapolis. In New York or Los Angeles? Not so much. Because women are lesser mortals, the WNBA has been relegated to playing ball in the summer months—in order to make major basketball stadiums available in the winter for the boys. To supplement their meager pay, professional women often play in Europe in the colder months. Britney Griner went to Russia and was jailed by the Putin government, but that’s an entirely different tale for another time. So if Caitlin’s TOP yearly take is $75K, well, start pushing downward on the cash register keys, because her colleagues are earning far less than she. Considerably less.
The top NBA male draft pick just snagged north of $12M per annum. His stats aren’t comparable to Caitlin’s. His skill set is definitely in need of improvement. So what gives? Testosterone. Gallons of it. Period. Full stop. You may have seen ESPN’s viewership numbers for March Madness. Through the roof, especially when Caitlin was under the hoops. The men’s game garnered the usual average set of eyes. The point is, the networks make moola from advertising during the basketball season. Courtesy of the women bouncing the ball on the parquet floors. Women who have devoted years of their young lives to training, time on mind-numbing buses, balancing classwork with weight room work. Not to mention injuries. College players forfeit carefree college days. Yes, they get scholarships. And for most players, that’s enough. Particularly for women. My youngest niece played Div 1 lacrosse as a starter from day one for all 4 years. She had a full time job playing lacrosse and managed to shoehorn in classes. She knew the score. There are no professional prospects in lacrosse. So she became an Academic All-American as well as a lacrosse All-American. And is now doing extremely well, thank you, in the competitive world of New York finance. That’s called Karma, baby.
What of the hundreds of women who aren’t Caitlin Clark? Even more importantly, what of Ms Clark herself? She’s being paid a pittance for playing the same game as her male equivalents. What a crock. And yet if she demurs, well Little Lady, we can always find some other female player willing to accept even less. Take it or leave it, sweetheart. And don’t forget to put the dirty towels in the locker room in the laundry.
Go team?