WSL announces equal pay for women

[eastbound]

[Ichabod Spoonbill]

That's good to see. I imagine that will increase participation.

[comeu]

Great to see things evolving...

[TallDude]

I'm not sure about what is deemed equal? I read an article from 2016 that shows the average winning per entrant is the same for men and women. It was around $10K per event out of 32 male and 16 female. The 1st prize was larger for the males because they had twice as many contestants. The male pro pool is around 900 world wide. Only 32 make the main event. The women pro pool is around 300 world wide. Only 16 make the main event.
Maybe they are allowing 32 pro women to make the final event and paying them the equal big cash prize the males? But if they still only have half the entrants of the men (16) and are still getting the same first place cash as the men, that would mean the women are making more on the average. Not sure what this recent news really means?

[JEG]

finally.

[supthecreek]

The women on WSL and your local break are killing it these days....
so stoked to see some of my friends owning Bali on big days!

The committed women are as agro and talented as the men and spend just as much to chase events, so making the prize pay more of the expenses is great.

Participation, entry fees and publicity rights are the lifeblood of any pro sport,
so it will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the long run.
 

[DavidJohn]

Awesome.. and about time.. and let’s hope other sports do the same.

[Area 10]

Good. But the devil will be in the detail, as TallDude says.

This seems like a fair summary of the current star of play:

“The mechanics of how equal prize money will be doled out given the existing disparities in the number of athletes between men’s and women’s events have yet to be formally announced. Still, the move is a step forward from the “prize purse parity” formula that the WSL (née ASP) instituted back in 2014”.

Full article: https://www.theinertia.com/surf/the-wsl-announces-equal-prize-money-for-men-and-women-starting-in-2019/

[ukgm]

I'm not sure about what is deemed equal? I read an article from 2016 that shows the average winning per entrant is the same for men and women. It was around $10K per event out of 32 male and 16 female. The 1st prize was larger for the males because they had twice as many contestants. The male pro pool is around 900 world wide. Only 32 make the main event. The women pro pool is around 300 world wide. Only 16 make the main event.
Maybe they are allowing 32 pro women to make the final event and paying them the equal big cash prize the males? But if they still only have half the entrants of the men (16) and are still getting the same first place cash as the men, that would mean the women are making more on the average. Not sure what this recent news really means?

Equality is a tough one. i.e.

- Is it seen as more equal is both genders can win the same money ? (this makes is equal to the individual but not to the groups as a whole).
- Is it seen as more equal if a prize pot is pro rata'd ? (this makes it equal to groups as a whole but not to the individual)

[Area 10]

I suspect that what they don’t want is a picture of the winning woman holding a prize cheque (is that check in US English?) with one sum of money in it, with the winning man holding another with a bigger sum of money on it.

So either they expand the number of entrants (which is going to create logistic and financial issues?) or else we won’t actually have equality.

Personally I think all sports should be run exactly the same for men and women. So for instance, I think it is ludicrous (and patronising) that men and women do not play the same number of sets in Grand Slam tennis.

[ukgm]

Personally I think all sports should be run exactly the same for men and women. So for instance, I think it is ludicrous (and patronising) that men and women do not play the same number of sets in Grand Slam tennis.

We have the same in cycling with both gender and age. Women and older racers race shorter distances. I've tried to explain to them that this doesn't make it any easier and effectively just makes it an entirely different event.

[Area 10]

Personally I think all sports should be run exactly the same for men and women. So for instance, I think it is ludicrous (and patronising) that men and women do not play the same number of sets in Grand Slam tennis.

We have the same in cycling with both gender and age. Women and older racers race shorter distances. I've tried to explain to them that this doesn't make it any easier and effectively just makes it an entirely different event.

Yes. It’s nuts. THESE are the REAL ISSUES in gender equality in sport, and until this patronising nonsense is swept away women will not be able to achieve true equality. The size of the winnings is a minor thing compared to the mindshift that needs to occur that says, in effect, “women are delicate little flowers who cannot achieve what men do” (and similar arguments can be made for ageism too). It’s time to talk about proper equality. Across the board and in every way. Until women are allowed to do exactly what the men do, it will always open the door to those who want to argue they should be paid less or treated differently, because they say e.g. “the women don’t have to work as hard” (because they only play 3 sets or whatever). So until this insidious nonsense is stopped we aren’t even a quarter of the way there.

[stoneaxe]

If every man raises his daughters to kick any man in the nuts that doesn't treat them as an equal, gender inequality will end eventually.

[SoFloSupChick]

If every man raises his daughters to kick any man in the nuts that doesn't treat them as an equal, gender inequality will end eventually.

Replace "daughters" with "children", and we have a chance at this.

Putting the responsibility on women alone hasn't worked and will not work. It's like saying it's up to racial minorities to stop racism.

[supthecreek]

IMO, I am happy to let the WSL proceed as is, working through where it leads.

a "deep dive" the subject may be prove challenging

I just did a bunch of searches, looking for "the" definitions of:
Equality:
noun
the state of having the same rights, status, and opportunities as others, regardless of one's gender.
 
then
Gender Equality
every definition I found was different.... appearing to depend on the goal of the definer.

So, as it relates to sport:

1:
Does "true equality" mean everyone competes in a single open event, without consideration of gender?
no more "Mens" category
no more "Womens" category
Prize money awarded to top performers on a truly equal basis.

Or

2:
Or does it mean "equal but separate"?

(that didn't go so well last time)

WSL is doing the right thing, but that doesn't guarantee a smooth ride as they work it out.
I think folks will have to accept some parts that they can't totally agree on.
I wish them well.