The UK’s Lucy Campbell will be stoked to hear that she and her female competitor’s will be earning as much as the men for the 2016 season. Photo: Billabong
Floyd Mayweather raked in the biggest paycheck out of any athlete for 2015. He made $420 million, reports Forbes. The highest paid female athlete for 2015 was Maria Sharapova with $29.7 million. I get it, the sports are completely different. But the male to female disparity in paychecks is something that has been around forever, sporting world or otherwise. And people have a lot to say about it.
For surfers, however, one competing nation has made the move to change that.
The English Surfing Federation decided that for the 2016 season, the women would make equal prize money to the men. In a meeting over the weekend, the ESF made the landmark decision, which will double the women’s pay. Before, the men made £1,000 ($1482.10), while women took in £500 ($741.05) for a win.
On the WSL’s Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour, the women still earn half the total prize money for each event – first place in a women’s event ($262,500) versus first place for men’s ($525,000). It’s a palpable pay gap, that’s for sure.
According to the Western Morning News, Lucy Campbell (pictured above), the UK’s top ranked female surfer, still has to work at a local bar to make ends meet. Hopefully this will change things for Lucy and the rest of the gals.
