‘Female Models Get Paid More’ When Nadal’s Striking Take On Gender Pay Gap Split The Internet
Recently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) disclosed the annual contracts for the members of the Indian women’s cricket team. They organised the players into three categories A, B, and C with fixed contracts of Rs. 50 Lakh, Rs. 30 Lakh, and Rs. 10 Lakh, respectively.
NEWS: BCCI announces Annual Player Contracts for #TeamIndia (Senior Women) for the period from October 2020 to September 2021.
Details https://t.co/jJKSarT8xn pic.twitter.com/suSJUkm2zw
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) May 19, 2021
A month ago, the BCCI had practiced a similar exercise for the men’s team as well, while segregating the Men in Blue into four categories, A+, A, B and C with contracts worth Rs. 7 Crore, Rs. 5 Crore, Rs. 3 Crore and Rs. 1 Crore, respectively.
ALERT: BCCI announces annual player retainership 2020-21 – #TeamIndia (Senior Men) for the period from October 2020 to September 2021.
Payment structure:
Grade A+ : INR 7 Cr
Grade A : INR 5 Cr
Grade B : INR 3 Cr
Grade C : INR 1 Crhttps://t.co/WgtmO7pIOv pic.twitter.com/ycnPcXPYJu
— BCCI (@BCCI) April 15, 2021
Now obviously, when the two sides are compared, the gender pay gap is simply extensive. However, when it comes to industries such as entertainment and sports, the debate becomes a lot more complicated.
There are certain professions in which the revenue generated depends on the number of eyeballs gathered and therefore many also believe that such a pay gap is justified. The idea is that when the two sides begin to draw equal attention and revenue, the pay gap will approximately close out and end eventually.
Pocas celebridades hay sin pelos en la lengua, pero ésta es una de ellas; ¡gigante Nadal! pic.twitter.com/cJqtlq9D14
— José Luis Tivi (@eltivipata) May 8, 2019
One of the best tennis stars in the world, Rafael Nadal spoke about this topic a couple of years ago and he belongs to a similar school of thought. However, back then, the south-paw was booed out of the building after his comments were viewed as sexist and narcissistic in nature.
Here’s what Nadal had said when asked about the gender pay gap in the tennis community:
“It’s a comparison we shouldn’t even make. Female models earn more than male models and nobody says anything. Why? Because they have a larger following. In tennis too, who gathers a larger audience earns more,” he had said in the interview with Io Donna, an Italian magazine.
Back then, the 20-time Grand Slam champion was at the sharp end of the spear on social media:
Disappointing, but not surprising from Nadal. https://t.co/hzJu3wIRZ3
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) June 9, 2018
This is disappointing, coming from you @RafaelNadal! How many male players bring in zero fans and they’re still making more? https://t.co/hQ2YoOAymF
— Corbin (@Dr_CorbinCWong) June 9, 2018
Reading this Nadal quote about equal prize money and super models… Having to shake my brain so it doesn’t freeze. Is this for real ? Rafa has been asked about the topic before and it never ended with this kind of thoughts…
— Carole Bouchard (@carole_bouchard) June 9, 2018
However, in recent times, the opinion has developed a lot more momentum with fans and followers continuing to use Nadal’s take to justify why the existence of his pay gap makes sense.
You almost feel embarrassed for Rafa Nadal having to answer such ridiculous questions. As always, the best response to an irrational liberal gender or equality question is common sense. Why do male soccer players earn more than females? Why do female models earn more than men? https://t.co/hrWpm1gzuF
— DPR 🇵🇱🇻🇦 ⚠️️⃠⚠️ (@DPR1939) May 8, 2019
No male fashion model has ever made, in his career, what Giselle Bundchen made in 2013.There’s no gender imbalance in tennis like there is in fashion (both entertainers), and the latter get paid from the same pool. Rafa Nadal points out inconvenient truths #MutuaMadridOpen
— DoctoreDiripioRubrum (@SportsDroppings) May 7, 2019
When women draw larger crowds, ( I know we are in a pandemic) or when they draw sponsors as in cable tv, etc, then we could start thinking about having equal pay. Why do female models make more money than male models, a point Rafa Nadal has brought up when asked the same question
— Jean Gamarra (@JeanGamarra4) March 28, 2021
Last year, one of the leading Indian cricketers, Smriti Mandhana had also presented her opinion on the pay gap between Indian men and women cricketers and had said that it was unfair for them to demand equal pay at the moment simply because the generated revenue gap between the two sides was big.
Check out Smriti Mandhana’s complete interview on the gender pay gap.
