World Cup prize money disparity is an obstacle to Equal Pay law
The fact that we are still discussing whether or not the 2016 Rio Olympics had an unequal impact on women’s pay, and that it is one of the biggest issues in international sport, says much about the way women’s sports are perceived by the general public.
It is hardly surprising that most people have no idea that equal pay is such a long-established and well-researched issue. But it has not been easy to put the problem into words, particularly for those outside sport, or even for people who have studied the issue for years.
The last time equal pay for men and women was discussed was in the 70s, following the first Women’s World Cup, which then led to the establishment of the first Women’s Sport Federation (now called the International Olympic Committee), followed by a Women’s Olympic Games and a Women’s World Congress.
I am not really sure when, nor where, the World Cup was established, but I am almost certain it was created to give greater visibility to the women’s game. The first Women’s World Cup, won by West Germany, was also the first time a World Cup tournament had been held outside Europe, in 1950. The only other time a Women’s World Cup was held was in 1994, and it was held in Saudi Arabia, as the Women’s World Cup.
It was only when the Women’s World Cup was held in the United States in 1998 that equal pay for men and women was seriously considered, which resulted in the first equal pay agreements at the World Cup, which led to the first equal pay laws in the Olympic Games and in a range of sport at other international competitions.
But equal pay for men and women has not always happened. In fact, the process has been quite uneven, and it is perhaps fitting that, when discussing the question of equal pay for men and women in sport, we should mention the first world championship that allowed all its nations to compete on an even playing field: the Football World Cup held in England in 1928.
According to research carried out by Cunliffe, Johnson and Fagan, in 2014, “the median wage for male executives in the private sector
