21 minute read
ON THE COVER
from March 2022
by Le Journal
COVER STORY woMEN’S World
Throughout the years, men’s and women’s sports have had striking inequalities in pay, treatment, advertising, and much more and the time for change is now.
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BY PRINT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KATE MCCARTHY & SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR SOPHIE GROMOWSKY
When brainstorming a list of famous athletes, who comes to mind? For many, it’s Patrick Mahomes, Lebron James, Lionel Messi, Usain Bolt and more. Notice something about that list? They’re all men.
Over the course of the past 10 years, the world of women’s sports has exploded onto the national stage. Increasing viewership and ratings, growing attention from fans and marketers and an influx of new sponsorships and TV rights deals make women one of the greatest investments currently in the sports industry, according to the Washington Post. This rising interest is fueled in large part by the unparalleled female sports highlights that have characterized the past decade: the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team’s back-to-back World Cup victories, Serena Williams earning her 23rd Grand Slam title while eight weeks pregnant, the U.S. Women’s National Basketball Team winning its seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal and so many other victories that showcase the sheer excellence of female athletes.
On Feb. 22 the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team was awarded a $24 million settlement from U.S. Soccer, ending the widely publicized lawsuit between the players and their employers regarding equitable treatment of female players which was first filed in 2019, according to the New York Times. The multi million dollar payment is also accompanied by an agreement by the federation to equalize pay between the men’s and women’s national teams. The ruling has been hailed as a turning point in women’s sports by prominent figures from both inside and outside of the sporting world, from former USWNT captain Megan Rapinoe to President Joe Biden who tweeted his congratulations to the team on Feb. 22, calling the case’s outcome “long overdue.”
The lawsuit’s settlement and the changes that it is likely to bring about, not only in women’s soccer but in the entire field of women’s sports, makes the case a historic victory to be sure. However, the very existence of the lawsuit itself raises the question of how, in the 21st century, 50 years since the passage of Title IX and 59 years since the enactment of the Equal Pay Act, such glaring imbalances still exist between the treatment of male and female athletes.
Since the inception of women’s sports, female athletes at nearly every level have struggled to overcome obstacles that for their male counterparts simply do not exist. Sexist beliefs and practices that continue to be present in today’s society not only endure within the sporting world’s audience, but also in its governing bodies, media coverage and sponsorship corporations. The industry is designed in a way which prevents women from reaping the same rewards as men for equal time, talent and hard work.
One area in which this disparity is perhaps most evident is in the wage gap that exists between male and female athletes. The salaries for male athletes are between 15-100% higher than those of female athletes in five major sports: basketball, soccer, tennis, golf and baseball/softball, according to Adelphi University. The difference is more pronounced in some sports than others. The average WNBA salary is only 1.5% of the average NBA salary, according to NBC Sports. The average professional women’s softball player has a salary of $6,250, according to Snap Softball, while average MLB salary is $4.17 million, according to ESPN. Even in tennis, which
BEYOND THE PLAYING FIELD
The United States is the only industrialized country in the world without federal paid maternity leave. According to Forbes, a recent survey of 1,500 collegeeducated women with children showed that 72% had to pause their careers or step out of the workforce after having children because their jobs did not offer the maternity benefits they needed. The issue of paid family leave disproportionately affects women and prevents them from progressing in their careers at the same rate as men.
Women pay an additional “pink tax” on many products that are specifically marketed towards women. This extra charge affects a wide range of items, from beauty and health related products all the way down to children’s toys. A study performed by Consumer Reports found that women’s products may cost up to 50% more than similar products for men.
Women are still underrepresented in politics in the United States. Though they account for 51% of the US population, women make up only 27% of Congress, according to Represent Women. Some factors that deter women from running for office include gender bias in the electoral arena and the perception of the electoral environment as bias against female candidates, according to NPR. Women are also less likely to believe that they are qualified to run for office compared to males.
ONLY 14% OF SPORTS REPORTERS ARE FEMALE
according to ESPN
WOMEN’S SPORTS RECIEVE ONLY 5.7% OF BROADCAST TIME ON ESPN
according to Statista
WOMEN RECIEVE ONLY 0.4% OF ATHLETIC SPONSORSHIPS
according to Marketing Week
features the lowest gap between male and females, women still make 80 cents to every dollar a man earns.
Sadly the wage gap is not a phenomenon unique to the world of sports, but rather a magnified reflection of America’s payroll. Women in the United States earn 84% of what men earn, according to the most recent available data from the Pew Research Center. A 2017 study by the same organization also found that 1 out of every 4 employed women reported that they earned less than a man doing the same job. According to Forbes, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says that most of the numerous causes of the gender pay gap can be separated into two categories: “sticky floors” and “glass ceilings.” Sticky floors cover the issues that women frequently face towards the beginning of their career, such as gender stereotyping and discrimination, while glass ceiling issues relate to penalties associated with motherhood and care giving which may prevent women from being promoted to higher-level positions.
For women in athletics, the most common argument used to justify the wide gap between male and female earnings is the simple fact that women’s sports do not generate as much revenue as men’s and therefore the players make less. Sports are a business after all, and it’s not possible to allocate more money to players’ salaries when the funds do not exist. The WNBA, for example, has lost approximately $10 million every year since its inception in 1996, according to USA Today. These losses are subsidized by the NBA, whose annual revenue is $8.3 billion according to CNBC. Fiscally speaking, it would not be feasible to pay female athletes salaries equal to those of their male counterparts because they are just not generating the necessary funding required to enable the organization to afford such high figures.
This argument disregards of course, the abundance of ways in which women’s sports are prevented from generating the same amount of revenue as men’s. First of all, women’s sports at a professional level were introduced to the game much later than men’s. The NBA was founded in 1946, the WNBA in 1996. The US Men’s National Soccer Team played their first game in 1916, while the women’s team wasn’t established until 1985. This has given men’s teams greater opportunity to establish themselves and develop fanbases who will generate income through game attendance, television viewership and merchandise sales.
In addition, women’s sports receive significantly less coverage and marketing compared to male sports. Female sporting events only comprise 5.7% of broadcast time on ESPN’s SportsCenter, according to Statista. Not only does lack of airtime severely hamper women’s team’s abilities to develop a large and steady audience, but it also reinforces the idea that men’s sports are more important and upholds the familiar belief that sports are a man’s game. Furthermore, it dramatically decreases the chances of female athletes procuring sponsorships. Through athletic sponsorships, companies are seeking to expose their brand to new audiences. When female athletes receive only a fraction of television time compared to males, it is impossible for them to achieve the same level of exposure, which deters brands from sponsoring female athletes. According to Statista, out of the $57 billion distributed in global sports sponsorships in 2020, only about $1 billion went to women. The inability of female players to acquire sponsorship deals only serves to help in widening the wage gap between male and female athletes.
The lack of opportunities for women in sports also extends well beyond players. Women are grossly underrepresented in all areas of sports business. In 2021, The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport reported that men accounted for 83% of sports editors and 86% of sports reporters, according to ESPN. Women hold only 17% of senior administrative positions in Major League Soccer, 38% of senior management positions
in the NBA and 29% of senior administrative positions in the MLB, according to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport.
Some Sion students witnessed the notable absence of women in sports business for themselves through the Sports Business Deep Dive that took place in February. Throughout the week students attended a variety of sites which included Royals Stadium, KC Comets’ indoor soccer arena and Children’s Mercy Park, home of Sporting KC - all locations played at by male teams. On Tuesday they visited 810 Sports Radio, where they observed no women employees throughout the entirety of the trip. During a panel at Sporting KC on the final day of the Deep Dive, the lone female speaker advised students interested in pursuing careers in sports business to be their own advocate and speak up for themselves because no one else would have their back, according to sophomore Ellie Gromowsky.
“It made me feel very disappointed and upset to see how few women held high-ranking positions at each of the places we went,” Gromowsky said. “It’s discouraging that in 2022 men still dominate the world of sports.”
Sports business is far from the only male-dominated career field still in existence in the United States. Some of the most prominent examples include software engineering, architecture, financial analysis and piloting according to Insider. Women working in male-dominated industries report additional challenges surrounding their jobs, according to Catalyst, including societal expectations and beliefs about women’s leadership abilities, pervasive stereotypes regarding the role of women as mothers and caregivers and lack of mentoring and career development opportunities. Additionally, 28% of women in male-dominated industries report having experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, as opposed to 20% in female dominated industries. Such formidable obstacles can deter women from entering career fields that are majority male, allowing them to remain male-dominated.
“Statistically, there are a lot of fields that are maledominated where women are just super underrepresented. In the government, women make up like 27% of senators and state legislatures and like 7% of Fortune 500 CEOs,” senior Tess Tappan said. “And not to mention the pay gap and sexism in the workplace. It’s easy to be discouraged and passed over.”
Though women have made significant gains over the course of the past several decades on the sporting field and the workplace, there is still tremendous work that must be done to close the gender gap in all areas of life. Women deserve equal recognition and rewards for all of their contributions and achievements, and they are making history every single day as they take the steps to establish their place in a world built for men, by men.
a league of their own
Students share their opinions on sports inequality.
SOPHOMORE GENESIS MARTINEZ-PORRES
JUNIOR ANGIE SCHIMMEL
“It is important to watch women’s sports and support female athletes because then it provides them with more views and gives them more money, which helps the pay gap a tiny percentage. Plus if we support them and stand with them on this unequal treatment, it shows that we agree and will support them.”
SOPHOMORE ELLIE HENSON
FRESHMAN DENALI SANCHEZ-BENCOMO
The City of Fountains is more than the landmarks that every travel website has and every local knows. From parks and gardens, to all different forms of entertainment, the city we all call home has more to offer than we think it does.
KAUFFMAN LEGACY PARK
oh, the places you (should) go
Kansas City has more to offer than what us locals and the travel guides show.
BY ELLE SIMON FEATURES EDITOR
Photo | Kauffman Legacy Park
It’s a hot sunny summer day and you’ve just gotten coffee with your friends from The Wild Way. So now what? How about sipping your coffee while taking a nice stroll through Kauffman Legacy Park.
Located behind the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center, the park spans about two acres and has gorgeous grounds. The Kauffman Legacy Park was created with the hopes of focusing on conservation and highlighting the native Missouri wildlife that can be seen throughout the park. If you’re lucky, in the spring you might spot some Canadian geese goslings!
The Kauffman Legacy Park is a great place to connect with nature and learn about the wildlife that calls Missouri home. It’s stunning grounds are the perfect place for a summer picnic or a family stroll!
YAYA’S ALPACA FARM
Photos | YaYa’s Alpaca Farm
Animal lover? Then paying a visit to YaYa’s Alpaca Farm is the hidden gem for you. Located in Cass County, YaYa’s Alpaca Farm is home to quite a few alpacas.
At YaYa’s Alpaca Farm you can take a tour of the farm where the alpacas live and see what the property offers besides the wooly llama-like animals. During the tour you will learn about alpacas, their origins, their behavior, and how their fleece is used to make goods for the store on the farm. You even get to spend time with the alpacas!
YaYa’s Alpaca Farm is a fun and unique way to discover a species you don’t encounter very often and a cool experience to take part in.
THE WILD WAY
Photo | Alaina Perila
Coffee from a mobile trailer? Seems a little wild. But that’s what The Wild Way is all about. Founded by husband and wife team Christine and Jon Clutton, The Wild Way is a mobile coffee business that travels around Kansas City serving coffee at public and private events.
Their coffee takes inspiration from untraditional creativity and “the desire to take the road less traveled” The Wild Way’s website states. The Wild Way uses in house, local, and organic ingredients making their coffee above your average Starbucks.
In the warmer months, you can find The Wild Way at the Overland Park Farmer’s Market or in Brookside at the corner of 56th and Brookside Boulevard. During the cold winters when we’re all in need of a hot latte, stop by The Wild Way Warehouse. The Wild Way is a unique coffee experience that you can’t find anywhere else.
THE RIO THEATRE
ZIP KC Photos | ZipKC
Is ziplining on your bucket list? Then consider it checked off with a visit to Zip KC. Located in Bonner Springs, Zip KC gives you the opportunity to take a zipline tour above the bluffs of the Kansas River. The tour consists of nine different ziplines expanding over 5,800 feet.
The two most popular tours that are offered are the sunset tour and the tower tour. The sunset tour goes through all nine towers of the course while the sun is setting. The tower tour consists of five lines that run from tower to tower in the tree canopy.
At Zip KC you can also take a hiking tour or try out their ninja warrior course. If you love a good adventure, then taking a trip to Zip KC would be right up your alley.
Photo | Elle Simon
The Rio Theatre was first opened on Christmas Day 1946 and closed in the 80s. It reopened in 2000 and has kept popcorn popping ever since.
The neon lights, light pink and baby blue exterior, and the bright marquee sign out front gives the illusion that it is straight out of “Grease”. The vintage popcorn machine even keeps up with the nostalgic feel of the place. The theatre plays old movies from decades past. The kinds of films you wouldn’t find on the silver screen at your local AMC. The Rio Theatre is meant to be a cultural experience and hopefully opens your eyes to seeing the world differently than when you entered. Though The Rio Theatre might appeal more to the older generations, it is a unique cultural excursion for teenagers who want to experience the old movie magic.
GRAFFITTI ATTIC
If you’re an art lover or artist, taking a trip to Graffiti Attic is an art museum experience unlike any other. Located within Union Station, Graffiti Attic gives local artists the chance to paint whatever they want on whatever they choose to use as their canvas.
Since the artistic wonderland has opened it has become a place for Kansas City street artists to share their techniques and styles with other artists in an artist commune. The gallery has portraits, interesting visuals, and some incredible artwork,all done with a few cans of spray paint.
Graffiti Attics displays the artwork of many street artists, whose work we tend to see as vandalism or destructive. It gives street art a new light and demonstrates that it really is a growing and unique form of creativity.
feature. AMPLIFY Bl ACK
Photo | Megan Kelley Not pictured: Tyra Frazier and Kamryn McKibben
Bl ACK
VOICES
The Black History Month Celebration, created and organized by students, celebrates black history and black voices within Sion.
BY: BRIANNA LEGETTE A&E EDITOR
Drums hit and bang and the piercing sound of a whistle is heard throughout the gym as the Kansas City Marching Cobras stomp onto the court and perform. “Oohs” and “ahs” echo through the crowd, and students dance and clap to the impressive kick-off for the Black History Month: Amplifying Black Voices Celebration Feb. 10.
Starting in December, the BHM committee consisting of sophomores
Imani Cutler, Munira Mohamed, Vikki Muchai, Kosi Okuagu and Mary Margaret Perkins, juniors Eden Davis, Kori Franklin
and Ellington Persley, and seniors Tyra
Frazier, Brianna Legette and Kamryn
McKibben, planned the Black History Month events with teachers Emily Grover, Morey Williams, and the rest of administration.
“I don’t think we’ve had a Black History Month celebration like this before,” Mohamed said. “I feel it was nice to experience something like this and all the students could experience it. The celebration was about showing black culture and having fun with it.”
Committee members met before school and during free time to plan and organize all of the activities: showcasing black artists, black literature and poetry, music, a movie night, black-owned businesses and even a step team.
Perkins, who made the art displayed in the Commons, said, “My inspiration was actually Kehinde Wiley and the paintings he does are in front of a background. And so I was like, I’ll just do these artists in front of the background inspired by their art.”
Perkins used Photoshop to make the art prints hanging in the Commons and did it all in one night, taking six hours. Frazier and McKibben spent several hours calling over 80 black-owned businesses to come to the marketplace.
“I think getting to have the businesses come in, and for people to be able to talk to them and not just have the products be sold, I think it was a lot more impactful, especially for the juices and stuff,” Okuagu said.
The black owned businesses that came to Sion were Ruby Jean’s Juicery, where students could preorder juices from the shop, as well as other businesses. Other activities were a display table of books by black authors such as, Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (which happens to be the featured film of the movie night), etc. organized by Presley and Legette.
Davis, Cutler and other committee members made announcements every morning about an impactful black figure. Frazier, president of Diversity Club, and McKibben were in charge of the music that’s influential in the black community that Frazier played around school during passing periods.
“I created the Black History Month playlist and the point of it was to show music and it was important to my culture,” Frazier said. “I think in the media that marketed as oldies are never what my family or my community listened to. So I thought it was important to show that.”
Even with the celebration clearly being a success according to students, many think that this is just a step and merely not the bare minimum.
“I think that a lot of people here, you know I think this is good for them. We have a small population of black students. If you’re able to see black culture in a nice and highlighted way and not the way the media sends it out like riots and stuff,” Okuagu said.
All committee members who have been interviewed think that Sion can incorporate more positive black history into the curriculum. Members expressed that black history should not be just about slavery. While yes, that is something that happened in history, people want to know more.
“We don’t talk about the other aspects of the black community. [While] incorporating slavery is important, but [there] is also some other things that we can talk about,” sophomore Zoey Marshall said.
Members would love to see more of black excellence, the good things that happened and are happening in the black community and culture; that is what the celebration was about. Members would also love to see more than the usual African-Americans that are presented in classes, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. They would appreciate seeing more diversity and not focus on just February as a time to showcase black Americans. They would love to see more of black culture and black history in history classes at Sion.
“We have so much history and even in world history, we talked about it a little bit, but we talked more about European history. It just didn’t reflect the real world,” Okuagu said. “In English classes, read more books by black authors, especially books that don’t just focus on slavery.”
With the whole process of putting the celebration together, it was stressful and overwhelming to get everyone on the same page and get businesses,and all the other features to come to Sion, but it was all worth it, because it came together and was a success.
“I think it was. I feel like especially with the performers and how the students were engaging with the performance and then just their reaction to it,” Mohamed said. “I feel like it was a great success and that it’s going to be something that’s [continuing] for a long time now.”
