Getting the Pay Gap on the Board: Female Athletes’ Demands for ‘Equal Pay’ in German Media Narratives

Abstract

Female athletes and activists often advocate for ‘equal pay’ or criticize existing gender pay gaps in sport. In their efforts to draw attention to persistent gender inequalities and to initiate change, they rely on media visibility. Therefore, this article examines how athlete activism for equal pay resonated in the German media. We analyze how often equal pay was reported on, and which events prompted this coverage. Given that a variety of arguments in favor of and in opposition to these demands exist, we also examine the framing of the articles in detail. Our analysis is based on 96 articles that appeared in seven highly popular German news outlets between January 2020 and December 2024. Our findings reveal that female athletes were able to mobilize some positive media resonance, but only for shorter periods and for narrowly targeted claims. A majority of articles framed gender pay gaps in sports as unjust and unfair, but then suggested market-conform solutions. This means that a reduction of existing pay gaps would imply that women’s sports must ‘catch up’ by following the designated path of commercialization as known from men’s sports.