Yesterday I discussed how BBC Radio 4’s flagship show, Woman’s Hour, consistently ignores facts on the gender pay gap to push its narrative of victimhood. But this is not an isolated occurrence. Just before the start of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, an England player was on for interview.
The outrage from Woman’s hour was not just that female players earned less than men but that the England Squad were flying to the competition economy class while their male equivalents flew first class. The rugger player tried to put this in context but was told repeatedly that this was just not acceptable, whatever she said.
The context is that women’s rugby has a very limited following. Matches in the cup are held three at a time in one stadium as that is the only way that – despite almost giving away tickets – that the stands will be even half full. Like men’s netball there are very few players, standards are not very good and there are – as a result – very few spectators indeed.
And that means that despite woke corporations signing up as sponsors, women’s rugby is very loss making with most top clubs in the only semi-pro league in England financially piggybacking of big men’s clubs. And even in the men’s game, the demands of players to be paid a “proper wage” means that most clubs are not really financially viable, as in profitable. Indeed two of the top 12 (Wasps and Worcester) men’s clubs have already gone bust this season.
As such the idea that women’s teams should fly first class and get big pay hikes to fly to little watched tournaments is absurd. Just who is meant to pay for this? Of course, that does not matter on woman’s hour which perennially seems to think that there are money trees everywhere to pay for all sorts of things. The important thing is that women paying a game which very few people want to watch need to be given more money just because they should in the interests of equality. Now what about those male netball players? I know nobody watches them but its all about equality innit?