In 2017 America,  female and male athletes are not being paid the same. Americans are told they live in a place where everyone is equal. But men and women are not treated the same. Most people want to live in a place that does what it says? Female and male athletes should be treated equal. They should be paid the same. Female athletes are successful, hard working, they are professional athletes, and there is equal pay in tennis. There are so many reasons why women are equal to men and they should be treated so.

Female athletes have been competing on a professional level  for years. They work hard all the time and find success in competing. The U.S women's 2016 soccer team won the World Cup in Papua New Guinea. In 2014 the men’s World Cup in Brazil the men’s team did not place. “The current gap between men and women's World Cup is tens of millions of dollars”(Cauterucci). The  U.S women’s team was more successful than the men's in the World Cup; yet, the men are paid more. Even though they did not win the World Cup or place. The men are also given way more money for their programs, including money for training and equipment. Some people argue that mens soccer is bigger, and where that may be true, aren't the females athletes just like the men? The women's team are playing all these games and practicing constantly. Women's teams have been proven to be successful, working hard for all of their accomplishments.

Men and women have different body types. Men have more natural muscle, where women have more natural fat. It’s a known fact the men are stronger.  This makes it easier for man to participate and compete in sports. However, Female athletes work insanely hard to compete at the same level as men. For example Olympic swimmer Dana Vollmer “After having her first child in March of 2015, Dana returned to the pool and quickly regained her place among the top swimmers in the world” (Vollmer). After having her son, Vollmer competed in the 2016 summer olympics in Rio. She currently holds four world records and has five olympic medals. Three of the medals, including a gold, and one American record was made in the 2016 Summer Olympics. After being pregnant Dana's body had changed. She had gained weight and was no longer in shape. Male athletes with children, like Michael Phelps for example, do not have physical changes to their body or loss of training while their children are being born. Woman's body type does affect their athletic ability, but they are still good athletes.

Female athletes are competing in the Olympics and other national competitions around the world. The women are facing the same events as the men athletes . All the male and female athletes that are competing are professionals. “For any given task in these sports, women have to work harder. To drive a golf ball 200 metres, for instance, a woman would need to use 80-90 percent of her maximum force whereas a man might draw upon 60 percent.” (Should women athletes earn the same as men? The science says they work as hard). For all sport from track to tennis men and women athletes are competing in the the same events, if it’s a game or a race. The games are the same amount of time and the races are the same distances for the events.  Driving a  golf ball 200 meters is the same distance for a male or female. Even though they might not always be as fast as the male athletes they are competing at the same level as them.

For as long as woman have been competing there is not equal pay in sports. There is, however, one sport where male and female athletes are paid the same. Thats sport is tennis, Venus Williams fought for equal pay for male and female tennis players. She succeed in getting equal pay, for all cup games and big competitions the women were being paid the same as men. “Roger Federer collecting $1.13 million in prize money. But his female counterpart, Williams, won only $1.08 million. Several months after William's speech at the All England Club, the women’s championship prize money was increased” (Sreedhar). Venus fought for what she believed in and she got what she deserved. Having quale pay in male and female tennis shows that this could happen for all the other sport being competed in. Female and male athletes should and can be paid the same.

Women deserve to be paid the same as men because women work hard to accomplish great things in their careers. They are professional athletes that do not let things like there body  type stop them from doing what they want to do. They are successful, and they participated in their sport just like the men do. There is also quale pay in tennis because of  Venus Williams. Therefore female athletes deserve to be paid equal to men athletes because they are successful, hard working, and their perfection athletes.

Works Cited

Kevin Netto Associate Professor, Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University. “Should Women Athletes Earn the Same as Men? The Science Says They Work as Hard.” The Conversation, 19 Jan. 2018.

Walters, John. “A Lawsuit from the U.S. Women's Soccer Team Reveals Deeper Issues with Gender Equity in Sports.” Newsweek, 2 June 2016.

“Should Female Sports Stars Be Paid the Same as Male Counterparts?” Mirror, 21 Mar. 2016, www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/should-female-sports-stars-paid-7604727.

Cauterucci, Christina. “The U.S. Women's Soccer Team Finally Has a Better Contract, But Not Equal Pay.” Slate Magazine, 5 Apr. 2017, FIFA.com. “FIFA World Cup™ Archive.” FIFA

Vollmer , Danna. Thenation.com.

“The Inspiring Story of How Venus Williams Helped Win Equal Pay for Women Players at Wimbledon.” Women in the World, 6 Feb. 2017.