Does Gender Pay Inequality Exist In The Modeling And Sports Industry?

There are many advocates for equal pay for the female gender. But how do they explain that female models still vastly outearn male models? According to Fortune the average salary of a female model is US$ 41,300 annually which is 148% more than male models.

Today, even in many traditionally male-dominated careers, women are already earning more than their male counterparts. For example, below are just some of the few examples from the US Census Bureau as of 2018:

1. Skincare Specialists: Women earn 290.6% more.
2. Brickmasons, Block Masons and Stone Masons: Women earn 190.5% more.
3. School Bus Monitors: Women earn 148% more.
4. Roofers: Women earn 143.5% more.
5. Medical Transcriptionists: Women earn 132.8% more.
6. Oil and Gas Derrick, Rotary Drill and Service Unit Operators: Women earn 129.9% more.
7. Underground Mining Machine Operators: Women earn 124.5% more.

The figures below and more were taken from an eye-opening article by Business Insider titled: The 34 jobs in the US where women typically make more money than men. and was authored by Aine Cain, Andy Kiersz and Madison Hoff.

Two of the authors of the article were women so it is safe to say that there was no whitewashing involved regarding falsely trying to cover-up gender pay inequality. In fact, one career listed in the article is very controversial:

“Athletes and Sports Competitors make 103% more than male athletes and sports competitors. The average salary for females was: US$ 50,353 while the men only have an average salary of US$ 48,873.”

So, contrary to what some female athletes are saying in the US media at least, gender pay gap doesn’t exist in sports. These disgruntled female athletes like to complain that the top male athletes are raking in millions while they are earning peanuts.

But the statistics don’t lie. There are now careers and not just sports were women are earning more than their male counterparts. So, gender pay gap doesn’t really exist. These complainers are just not looking at the bigger picture.

If you’re a fan of MMA (mixed martial arts) and WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) of which both are familiar worldwide and most especially in the US, you would easily know who Ronda Rousey is.

She’s not only an accomplished MMA fighter having won a few titles but is also an accomplished WWE wrestler having won a few titles there as well. She’s so famous that she’s even appeared in several movies including Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendable franchise.

According to the website Give Me Sport, she signed a multi-deal contract with the WWE with a salary up to US$ 1.5 million/year. She is also estimated with bonuses and merchandise sales to earn up to US$ 2.1 million/year.

Compare this with the salaries of other WWE wrestlers who is in the range of US$ 250,000/year. Some male wrestlers even earn as low as US$ 150,000/year. She is a perfect example of how there in no gender pay gap in the world of sports.

And why is she earning this much money? Because she has street credibility and beauty to boot. People know that MMA fights are real and not fixed so any fighter is considered a real fighter. She’s also a looker: blonde, beautiful and sexy. These are her winning factors.

In the opening lines of this article, it has already been stated that female models vastly earn more than their male counterparts but you don’t see male models complaining about this issue. This is because male models know the reality of the industry.

The fashion industry which is the industry where almost all models work for primarily caters to women. This is because the clothes, grooming products, handbags and related products are bought by more women than men.

Haven’t you noticed that the biggest fashion brands in history makes products that are primarily bought by women? Gucci, LVMH, Burberry, Coach, Armani, Channel and the likes are just some big fashion houses that overwhelmingly use female models than male models.

You might have guessed by now why some companies prefer certain genders against other genders. Female models attract not only women but also male customers. The men might not buy the female clothes but they do influence the buying behavior of their female partners.

Ronda Rousey does not only help draw in female audiences in the largely male oriented sports of WWE wrestling but she also brings in the male audiences of WWE wrestling. The same way beautiful and handsome athletes draw in fans of both genders.

During the 90s up to the early 2000s, Fabio Lanzoni or more probably known only as Fabio became one of the top male models. He was so famous that he earned a starting salary of US$ 150,000 outright back in the 90s.

He was a very famous book cover model. He was so famous that he did 15 to 16 book covers on a daily basis in his heydays. It is a well known fact that book covers can make/break a book sale. His fans would buy books just because he graced the book cover above anything else.

He is proof that even in a traditionally female-dominated industry, men could still thrive. Fabio is even a very occurrence in the modeling world. Traditional male models are supposed to be lean but he is buffed.

He is also a long-haired model while most of the male models during those days wore a clean-cut look to complement female models. His hair is so long that it went past his well-muscled shoulders.

I believe the reason for his success is that not only is he attractive to women but he also in a way a model of what men really wanted to be: a square jawed, well-muscled man with hair that is long and flowing, and ideally, blonde too.

I think by now you’ve realized that a company’s success doesn’t correlate to the fact that they hire more women than men even in the most physically demanding jobs out there like welding jobs.

What really matters for the success of a company is hiring people who can draw in the customers like what Ronda Rousey and Fabio had done. It doesn’t matter if the employee you’re hiring is male or female.

The important thing is what benefits they bring in to your company. For example, a fashion company is perfectly entitled to hire a specific gender of an employee if it is proven that for example a female model would attract more sales in their women’s clothing brand.

The same is true for example if the fashion company makes suits and ties for corporate clients. Men overwhelmingly wear suits and ties to work as compared to women. It only makes sense that this company should also hire more male models than female models.

But alas, we see many companies pandering to so-called societal inequality issues and as a result they lose their main regular customer base which is more important than attracting new customers who might bail out on them when the inequality movement trend fades.

Gender pay inequality doesn’t exist especially in these days when women are now fast moving into jobs and careers largely dominated by men. In the end, it doesn’t matter if an employee is male or female, what matters is what they can contribute for the company.

But if you’re a male or a female, you should seriously consider that the modeling and the sports industry especially pays more for the model or the athlete that would bring in the most crowds especially if you’re attractive and talented.

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