Hi guys I need help.

[Anonymityiskey]

I am a female semi professional tennis player. Currently the male side of the draw at this level take more of the money pot home than the women.

Obviously I challenge this and am told that “attendance at male matches is up 64% on any female match”. Therefore we don’t attract enough attention to “deserve” equal pay. I understand that it makes sense so how can I argue?

I'd be tempted to ask them for the formula they use to work out pay, as presumably men's matches with lower attendance attracts lower pay too?

Is there more marketing for male tennis? How much marketing effort have they spent bolstering the female game? i.e. how much effort have they changed to alter something which would in part be due to historical attitudes to women's sport.

Are mens games on at the better times etc.

How else does the womens element contribute to tennis as a whole? e.g. how many women are members of clubs etc

As above - are the mens prizes then linked to attendance and therefore vary on attendance.

Are they dicks in all aspects of their lives and do they understand that a large part of their attitude is based on a feeling of entitlement which ultimately will make them feel unfilled as they will never be able to feel as superior as they want to?

That one just rages on and on. Since 1973 I think? Wasn't the WTA founded to advocate for equal pay? I guess you're going to need a lot of patience in this fight...

Here's a good article that confronts this issue head on. Their five main points are:

1. Female tennis players work just as hard as men.
2. Longer contests are not worthy of higher pay.
3. It’s a myth that fans are always more interested in men’s tennis.
4. Men get paid the same as women in figure skating and gymnastics.
5. The fact that women’s sports are (sometimes) less popular is a vicious cycle.

Obviously they explain their reasons which includes this quote on viewing figures:

“In 2015, the U.S. Open women’s tournament, which featured a nail-biting showdown between Serena and Venus Williams, sold out more quickly than the men’s tournament. In 2013 and 2014, the women’s U.S. Open final garnered higher TV ratings than the men’s final. In 2005, the Wimbledon final between Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport drew 1 million more viewers than the showdown between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick”

If your discretionary pay is a structured formula based on attendance or other documented criteria it may be fair, if it's discretionary amount then they are discriminating based on sex.

First thing you need to do is find out if there explanation is true. If it is then maybe the split is fair?