The Gender Pay Gap in College Basketball: Is Discrimination the Driving Factor?
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Major Themes in Economics Volume 19 Article 6 Spring 2017 The Gender Pay Gap in College Basketball: Is Discrimination the Driving Factor? Melissa Ament University of Northern Iowa Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/mtie Part of the Economics Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy Copyright ©2017 by Major Themes in Economics Recommended Citation Ament, Melissa (2017) "The Gender Pay Gap in College Basketball: Is Discrimination the Driving Factor?," Major Themes in Economics, 19, 57-75. Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/mtie/vol19/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at UNI ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Major Themes in Economics by an authorized editor of UNI ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ament: The Gender Pay Gap in College Basketball: Is Discrimination the D The Gender Pay Gap in College Basketball: Is Discrimination the Driving Factor? Melissa Ament ABSTRACT. A survey of the current literature reveals two main schools of thought regarding the pay gap between coaches in men’s versus women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. The academic literature argues gender discrimination is not the source of the pay gap, while the popular press argues the pay gap is due in part to gender discrimination. A review and analysis of the existing literature finds discrimination is not the source of the pay gap between men’s and women’s college basketball coaches. I. Introduction One school, one sport, two teams, two head coaches. Coach I has 32 years of head coaching experience, 11 national championships, and the best winning percentage among basketball coaches at 0.877. Coach II has 4 years of head coaching experience, one national championship and a 0.688 career win percentage (UConn Athletics 2017a; UConn Athletics 2018b). Who has the higher salary? Answer: Coach II. The gender pay gap in NCAA Division I basketball is apparent across the board but nowhere more clearly than the University of Connecticut, where women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma (Coach I) made $1.95 million in 2014-2015 while men’s basketball head coach Kevin Ollie (Coach II) made $2.8 million (Mussatto 2015). The gender pay is not only an issue in athletics; the gap exists throughout the market place and has persisted for many decades. Identifying the source of the pay gap is the first step in eliminating unjustifiable differences in any occupation. Is the gender pay gap for head coaches of NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball programs due to gender discrimination? Perhaps it is due in part to discrimination, but it may also be the result of a host of other factors. A review and analysis of the existing literature finds discrimination is not the source of the pay gap between men’s and women’s college basketball coaches. 57 Published by UNI ScholarWorks, 2017 1 Major Themes in Economics, Vol. 19 [2017], Art. 6 58 Major Themes in Economics, Spring 2017 II. Terms and Definitions The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) defines itself as “a membership-driven organization dedicated to safeguarding the well-being of student-athletes and equipping them with the skills to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and throughout life.” (NCAA 2015c). All NCAA member institutions must abide by the rules and policies adopted by the NCAA in regard to athletics and student-athletes. The NCAA is made up of three divisions. Division I is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics. In general, Division I institutions are those who have the largest student bodies, largest athletics budgets, and largest scholarships (both dollar amount and number). Division II institutions have smaller student bodies than Division I institutions and offer only partial scholarships for athletic participation. Division III is the largest division, in both athletic participants and number of institutions. In Division III academics are said to be the primary focus as sports seasons are shorter and there are regional, rather than national, competitions (NCAA 2015a). This paper discusses head basketball coaches’ salaries at Division I institutions. In this paper, all references to coaches will imply head coaches unless otherwise specified. Another necessary clarification is that of men’s or women’s coach versus male or female coach. Men’s coach refers to the head coach of a men’s basketball team, regardless of gender. Women’s coach refers to the head coach of a women’s basketball team, regardless of gender. As of the 2016-2017 season there has never been a female head coach of a Division I men’s basketball team, so all references to men’s coaches imply male coaches. There are, however, both male and female head coaches of women’s basketball teams at the Division I level. The gender pay gap refers to the difference in earnings between men and women (Hegewisch and DuMonthier 2016; US Congress 2016). In the context of college basketball, the gender pay gap exists in two settings; one between male and female coaches and the other between coaches of female athletes and coaches of male athletes. This paper examines the gender pay gap in both settings in an effort to determine if the gender pay gap in college basketball coaching is a result of gender discrimination. Discrimination can occur in a variety of degrees. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines discrimination as “the treatment of a person or particular group of people differently, in a way that is worse than the way people are usually treated” (Cambridge English Dictionary, 4th ed., s.v. “discrimination”). Merriam-Webster defines discrimination as “the act of https://scholarworks.uni.edu/mtie/vol19/iss1/6 2 Ament: The Gender Pay Gap in College Basketball: Is Discrimination the D Ament: The Gender Pay Gap in College Basketball 59 making or perceiving a difference” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., s.v. “discrimination”). This paper uses discrimination as a pejorative in its examination of head basketball coaches’ salaries. Any quantifiable difference between men’s and women’s coaches’ salaries that is determined to result from gender differences is considered discrimination. III. Background A. GENDER PAY GAP The gender pay gap exists throughout the labor market. In 2015 the unadjusted gender pay gap, the difference in earnings between men and women, was 20.4 percent for full-time, year-round workers (Hegewisch and DuMonthier 2016; US Congress 2016). That is, women earned 79.6 cents for every dollar earned by men. Once adjusted for factors such as education, experience, and occupation, the difference in male-to-female earnings is five to nine percent. The gap has existed since women began entering the labor force in large numbers during the 1960s and 1970s (US Congress 2016) and continues today. Strides have been made towards narrowing the gender pay gap and from 1960 to 2015 the unadjusted female-to-male earnings ratio decreased by 15.7 percent (Hegewisch and DuMonthier 2016). Although the change has been positive, there is still a long way to go to achieve equality in earnings. B. LEGISLATION There is an abundance of literature concerning the factors causing the pay gap and how, or if, it can be eradicated. Discrimination is one factor that may contribute to the gender pay gap. The U.S. Government has taken steps to eliminate pay discrimination on the basis of sex through legislation. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 mandates that sex-based pay discrimination is prohibited in a workplace in which men and women perform jobs requiring equal skill, effort, and responsibility under similar working conditions: No employer … shall discriminate… between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of Published by UNI ScholarWorks, 2017 3 Major Themes in Economics, Vol. 19 [2017], Art. 6 60 Major Themes in Economics, Spring 2017 the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions (29 U.S.C. § 206(d)(1)). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also sought to eliminate sex- based pay discrimination. Title VII is broader than the Equal Pay Act and prohibits employers from engaging in employment practices that “deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1)). Despite the legislative efforts in 1963 and 1964 to eliminate sex-based pay discrimination, over 50 years later there is still evidence of its existence. Collins and Feder (2013) found that even after accounting for differences in observable factors (i.e. education, occupation, experience, etc.), five to nine percent of the pay gap of average earnings by males and females is unaccounted for. Gender discrimination is a possible cause. In some cases, up to 40 percent of the gender pay gap may be a result of discrimination (US Congress 2016). The gender pay gap is also present in non-traditional occupations, such as those in education and sports. Legislative efforts to combat discrimination have carried over to the educational realm, and by extension, intercollegiate athletics. Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 states: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance (20 U.S.C.