Advantage men: The sex pay gap in professional tennis

Abstract

Much of the literature on gender inequality in sport is devoted to media bias and conceptualizations of masculinity and femininity. In comparison, there is a paucity of empirical research on the sex pay gap. Our case study uses publically accessible data for professional tennis players ranked in the top 100 at the end of the 2009 season to determine to what extent a pay gap exists between men and women. We find that median earnings – both in 2009 and over a player’s career – are substantially higher for men than women in the sample. Net of various productivity measures, the average female player earned less than her male counterpart for every singles tournament won in 2009. We also find that while prize money for men and women is equal in prestigious tournaments such as Grand Slam events, women’s prize money is considerably lower in many of the less publicized tournaments. We submit that the sex pay gap among professional tennis players can be explained in part by productivity in 2009, as well as differential payouts for middle- and low-tier tournaments.

Gender Segregation and Trajectories of Organizational Change: The Underrepresentation of Women in Sports Leadership

“…However, numbers alone do not constitute gender equality. In the case of sport, for instance, the subordination of women athletes continues in spite of their increased numerical presence in recent decades, taking the form of lower pay, significantly lower media coverage, and their overt sexualization in media representations (Carty 2005; Cooky, Messner, and Musto 2015; Flake, Dufur, and Moore 2013). Since the gendered logic of an organization extends beyond the gender balance of the people that comprise it, the expanded presence of women—even at the level of leadership—may not lead to broader change in organizational practices and values (Berrey 2014; Brush 2003).…”

Stereotyping by omission and commission: Creating distinctive gendered spectacles in the televised coverage of the 2015 Australian Open men’s and women’s tennis singles semi-finals and finals

“…Tennis is one of the few popular sports in which men and women compete in the same tournaments, are awarded equal prize money in top-level events and receive similar amounts of overall broadcast media coverage during the major tournaments, at least compared to other sports (Flake et al, 2013; Kian and Clavio, 2011). Although gender differences in amount, type and content of media coverage are still present, tennis provides an arena for assessing the ways in which gendered discourses are produced where extensive measures have been taken to promote neutrality and equality (cf.…”

Deuce or advantage? Examining gender bias in online coverage of professional tennis

“…Nonetheless, there are still a number of impediments to the advancement of gender equality. As Flake et al (2013) point out, female tennis players still earn significantly less than men in “less visible” (i.e. middle and lower tier) tournaments.…”