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Badminton Lean Towards Equal Pay
"If the Badminton World Federation Council (BWF) doesn't get its act together, we will be the last sport in the olympic movement to change to an equal policy" said Bobby Milroy the BPF President.
The discussion over whether women and men should receive equal pay in badminton has become a heated debate. There are people against equal pay and many people for it. Despite the differences in opinion the Badminton World Federation is leaning toward an equal pay policy.
There are people involved in badminton that is against equal pay for men and women in badminton. The arguments against equal pay included that the men are stronger, faster, more powerful and have better endurance. Due to this fact men have to train and practice harder because their competition is tougher.
This is also because there are more male badminton athletes then female so to become the best player you need to work extremely hard. They believe this is why men should get paid a little more. In addition, men have a greater chance for injury because their matches are usually a little bit longer.
China's Chen Yu said "Its a very sensitive subject my personal opinion is that man have to work hard for their money so there should be a little difference when it comes to pay between men and women.
Most men and women in badminton are for the equal pay policy. They are demanding that an equal policy be created in badminton. They see it as wrong that the men have earned a larger portion of money in badminton over the years.
China's Lu Lan said "I think there should be equal pay because everyone tries their best". The Badminton Player Federation (BPF) seems to be ready because they voted unanimously for equal prize money. In the meeting there were 55 members of whom 21 were men and vote actual was 55-0. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is leaning toward the same type of policy.
The men and women are involved in the same badminton programs for their countries. They are even playing against one another in practice. This was unthinkable in the past. Women's badminton is becoming more popular so those the argue that women's badminton doesn't generate much money is no longer relevant. There is now a substantial fan base for women's badminton especially in countries such as China and Malaysia.
Badminton is not the only professional sport in which equal pay is an issue. Tennis is still dealing with the same issue. However, they have created some equal pay policies in some tennis tournaments. One of the most popular tournaments Wimbledon has granted women equal pay. The All England Club announced at a news conference that they will offer equal pay through all rounds at the tournament.
But, only professional tennis and beach volleyball offer equal pay to their athletes. Many other professional sports like soccer and basketball there is still a huge difference between women and men salaries. For instance, the average Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA ) players average salary is 50,000 and the top players in the league makes 100,000.
National Basketball Association (NBA) the average player salary is 5.215 million with the highest salary upward of 20 million. In addition, the average American male soccer player salary is 90,000 and the top players make over 300,000 per season. On the other hand, american women soccer players salaries range from 20,000 to 40,000 and the players can be paid up to 85,000 per year.
Badminton creating equal pay policies may help lead and influence other professional sports to create equal pay policies. There will always be several reasons to have equal pay and reasons not to. But, what it comes down to is what is right and fair. It seems so far the majority opinion in badminton is that gender should not be a factor in how big someone's salary or paycheck is after a hard day's work.
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