Closing the gender play gap: Towards pay equity in sports - International Equal Pay Day event hosted by Iceland and the OECD
To mark the yearly International Equal Pay Day on September 18th, Iceland and the OECD hosted an event for the fourth consecutive year at the OECD headquarters in Paris on 12 September. This year‘s event – Closing the gender play gap: Towards pay equity in sports - was dedicated to equal pay and equality in sports, aligning with the celebration of an Olympic and Paralympic year in Paris. Sports continue to be plagued by inequalities in participation from an early age, pay, conditions, investment, and visibility. To help us unravel this dilemma we were joined by incredibly inspirational speakers and panelists, a group consisting of World Champion and Olympic athletes and experts on the topic of gender equality and pay equity in sports.
The event was divided into two parts, the first consisting of a keynote speech by Joanna Lohman, a former professional footballer and a Sports Diplomat, followed by a fireside chat with Dame Laura Kenny, a 5x Olympic Champion, 7x World Champion in cycling, and an address by Elizabeth Broderick AO, founder of the Champions of Change Coalition, Australia and former UN Special Rapporteur for Discrimination Against Women and Girls. “How can a female athlete reach her full potential when she is deemed unessential?” is a question that Joanna raised in her keynote as she explained the gender disparity in pay, facilities, and other conditions. Dame Laura Kenny discussed visibility and discrimination in the coverage of women´s sports which in turn influences interest from investors and sponsors. Elizabeth Broderick emphasized that progress does not come by chance “in Australia progress has been the result of serious coordinated and systematic action”.
The second part of the event consisted of a panel discussion, starting with scene setting remarks by David Berri, Professor of Economics and Department Chair at Southern Utah University. In addition to the keynote speakers the panel included Þóra Helgadóttir, former professional and international footballer, Sophie Power, ultramarathon runner and founder of SheRACES, Julia George, Communications Lead at Women in Sport and Sarah Gregorious, former professional and international footballer. David Berri noted that research shows that the story of women in sports is not simply a market story but a story of discrimination. The common misconception of quality differences between men’s and women´s sports as an explanation for the revenue differences simply does not hold. Men earn more money than women in sports because men discriminate against women in sports. In addition to the history of gender discrimination in the sports world, there is an investment and media discrimination that affects the situation of women athletes. Speakers reflected on and discussed the progress made so far, the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as well as sharing ideas on effective approaches to ensuring pay equity and equality for women athletes.
The event was moderated by Mark Pearson, Deputy Director, OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs. Bjarni Benediktsson, Prime Minister of Iceland and Mathias Cormann, Secretary General of the OECD delivered opening remarks, and Unnur Orradóttir Ramette, Ambassador of Iceland in Paris closed the event. Around 1400 people from 48 countries attended the event in person and online. The International Equal Pay Day, 18 September, was designated as a day of observance in 2019 by the United Nations General Assembly, at the initiative of Iceland.
The recording of the event can be watched here: https://youtu.be/pQRXFyBU9GQ