The Strike for Fair Wages : FC Barcelona Soccer
A World Cup Win. 2 out of 3 Champions League Victory in the past 3 years. The Women's FC Barcelona soccer team is no stranger to excellence. However, their wages are not reflecting their hard work. The issue of the gender wage gap is an issue that has been going on for decades. However, the time is now for something to be done about it. In the European Union for "every $1 a man earns, a women will only make $0.87" (Hurtes & Chaundler, 2023). For doing the same work, women are making progressively less than men. This issue is very prevalent in sports, especially soccer.
In 2023, Spain's female soccer players finally put their foot down. The players refused to play until the wage dispute was brought to an agreement. The Women's players union, Futpro, stated that if working conditions did not improve before the season started in 2023, they would not play in their matches. All this has come to light due to other major sexism in soccer, most notable Luis Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, who forcibly kissed player Jennifer Hermoso publicly at the teams World Cup Victory. All this added on to the mounting problem of unfair treatment of women in sports. The women players are just trying to do their job, and "are feeling pretty angry,” said Amanda Gutiérrez, the head of Futpro. “They want to play, they don’t want this war" (Hurtes & Chaundler, 2023). However, they feel as though the league does not take female players seriously. They want to play soccer, but more importantly they want equality.
Comparing salaries, "the minimum salary for men in the first division is 182,000 euros but for women, just 16,000 euros" (Players in Spain, 2023). That is a drastic difference. Part of this is due to the fact that the women's league earns just 8 million euros a year from its sponsors, while the men's leagues generates 92 million euros. So, to increase the wage for the women players, it is also important for them to increase sponsorships and publicity. Yet, the women's team is not asking for the same exact pay, rather a pay increase. The players are asking for a minimum salary of 23,000 euros each which is still no where near what the men are making, but the negotiations came to a halt when the league refused to approve a minimum salary of 20,000 euros. The argument has been made that there is no money for this pay increase, but the women's league earns tv rights and receives government spending. They are aware that there is not the same amount of money that there is in the men's league, but the players are seeking higher wages, contracts that continue during maternity leave and access to the same nutritionist and physical therapist men use.
The women's league said “the decision to strike was seriously damaging to the image of Spanish Women's Football” (Hurtes & Chaundler, 2023). However, what message does it send to young women all over the world if they allow themselves to be treated so poorly compared to the men's team? Asking for maternity leave and good nutrition should be a given, not something these women have to fight for.
After skipping out on the first weekend of matches, the league and unions had finally come to a deal to increase minimum wage. The new deal “will increase the minimum wage for the women's league to 21,000 euros this season, with that sum rising to 23,500 euros by 2025. It could go even higher depending on revenue” (Spain’s women’s Soccer League, 2023). While there is still a long way to go until equal pay, the Spains Women's team is taking a stand and fighting for the equality they deserve.
Sources
AP News. (2023, September 26). Players in Spain’s women’s Soccer League to strike for better pay and conditions. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/spain-womens-league-strike-68791cb7769e73f67555f48c6f384dcd
Hurtes, S., & Chaundler, R. (2023, September 7). Spain’s female soccer players strike over wage dispute. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/world/europe/spain-women-soccer-strike.html
Spain’s women’s Soccer League players call off strike after reaching a deal for higher minimum wage. CTVNews. (2023, September 14). https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/spain-s-women-s-soccer-league-players-call-off-strike-after-reaching-a-deal-for-higher-minimum-wage-1.6560944#:~:text=The%20league%20and%20unions%20said,deal%20to%20increase%20minimum%20wage
I think this is a very fair ask of the female players of FC Barcelona. It is very respectable that they aren't asking to make the same as the men's team, as the revenue is very disproportional. However, they are requesting a fair minimum amount of ~20k euros. This is more of a matter of being able to make a living, as opposed to trying to garner luxury wages. It's an interesting topic and I hope that female sports continue to gain attention with more efforts towards equal spotlights in media and videogames!
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that women are in the wrong for asking for more money. I do understand the side of "oh the men's sports make more in revenue" and therefore they should make more money which I don't disagree with. All were asking is that women get fairly compensated for being a professional athlete and training everyday to be in the best possible shape and skill level. Many female athletes are forced to work multiple jobs for their families. I believe this is a very interesting and clearly hot topic in todays day and age and something that should be continued to be talked about.
ReplyDelete