Pay Gap In Sports: Despite the rise of women athletes in almost all sports globally, there still remains a significant difference in the pay that is given to them when compared to the male athletes, for the same sports. In some sports, this gap is so big and glaring that it is almost impossible to ignore.
According to Thayer Lavielle, the executive president of the women’s advocacy group, the collective, it has been seen that women athletes tend to make, on average, almost 21 percent less than male athletes.
However, in 2025, some sports are changing the story and are taking real steps to bridge this gap.
Here are the 4 Sports Where the Pay Gap is Being Addressed in 2025
Soccer
- Soccer is known for its shocking pay disparity.
- CNN Reports claim that for every dollar earned by a male soccer player, the female player earns only 25 cents.
- Fortunately, improvements are on their way under the leadership of Jessica Berman, of the National Women’s Soccer League who aims to user her experience to empower the women athletes.
- She emphasies not just pay parity but parity in investment, visibility and respect.
Pickleball
- Pickleball is becoming one of the most popular sports globally
- In 2025, ensuring equal prize money in major pickleball tournaments is what many governing bodies are working on together with athlete unions.
- In the coming years, Pickleball is set to become a leader in equal pay between all genders.
Chess
- Pay parity or equal pay already exists at the grandmaster level in chess.
- However, disparity in pay still exists at the entry level and the intermediate levels.
Cricket
- Cricket is all set to become one of the newest sports that is working to close the pay gap between genders.
- In September of 2024, the premier governing body for English Cricket, ECB, made an announcement that it would standardize the minimum starting salary across genders in 2025, in domestic cricket.
Gender pay equity in sports has been a topic of discussion for years now. In 2025, however, the only way to actual change is through a change in policies and equal price money distribution in global events. As with anywhere else, fairness in pay should not be a luxury but a standard. Support of fans, sponsors, and governing bodies alike will increase investment in women’s sports to reduce and shrink the pay gap that women athletes have to settle for.
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