Month: October 2020

Student Voice Series: “I Am Not Going to Be Silent” by Ashley M, Blue Tie ’24

It’s important to acknowledge independent women, especially in today’s society. Nowadays, women seem to stand their ground. However, it wasn’t always like it is now. Years ago, you could say it was “normal” if women didn’t step their foot forward and stand their ground. 

We should strive to be women that are not afraid to fight and stand out for what is right. We all have different idols, we shall take them as an example and try to follow in their shoes. Idols don’t always have to be someone famous or well-known. For example, my idol is my mom. I look up to my mom because she’s the strongest and most independent person I know. My mom became a single mother when I was two years old. She provided many things for me, and still does. She never let me see her break down and cry, she never once complained. That’s why I enrolled in St. Mary’s Academy, my mom trusts that SMA will continue to help her build a young, hard working and independent lady. 

My mom taught me that if I put my mind to something, I will always achieve it. Since I’m an athlete, she warned me that in the sports industry it’s harder for women to become successful. It saddens me that just because I’m a female it’s harder for me to be acknowledged and supported. 

In the sports industry, women are paid between “15% to 100%” less than men, depending on the sport played. 

Sports Men Women

 

Basketball (NBA & WNBA) $8,321,937 $75,181
Golf (PGA & LPGA) $1,235,495 $48,993
Soccer (MLS & NWSL) $410,730 $35,000
Softball/Baseball (MLB & NPF) $4,031,549 $6,000
Tennis (ATP & WTA) $335,946 $283,635

Table from Adelphi University

Looking at the difference in these numbers upsets me, and I know a lot of women agree with me. These hardworking women have to push themselves twice as hard to prove themselves to society. Men are glorified for breathing the air while playing the sport they love, but women are looked down on and their sports are less popular. Little girls look up to these female athletes and dream to become them, but little do they know that it took their idols a while to have those smiles on their faces.

These men and women play the same sport, but why is there such a difference in the numbers? I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of the difference in the genders. To put it into perspective here’s an example to think about: The highest paid player in the WNBA, DeWanna Bonner, makes $127,500 while the lowest paid player in the NBA, Luguentz Dort, gets paid $155,600.

Some young ladies want to be professional athletes, to do what they love, but question the pay. People will try to pressure them by saying, “Maybe think about becoming a doctor” or “You’ll change your mind.” They may even laugh at their dreams. We can do it all. If I could, I’d tell all the young female athletes who are discouraged by low pay to make a difference. I’d tell them to not be afraid to stand out and speak on what women nowadays are tired of. We must have equal pay. Lastly I’d remind them that we all support one another, we are united. 

We, as women of this generation, should stand up for one another and support each other, no matter the skin tone, race, or different beliefs we may have. We shall not let those things divide us! Remember what Madeleine Albright once said, “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.”

SOURCES

Chart from “The Gender Pay Gap in Sports.” Male vs. Female Professional Sports SAlary Comparison, Adelphi University, https://online.adelphi.edu/articles/male-female-sports-salary/.

Madeleine Albright quote from “60 Empowering Feminist Quotes from Inspiring Women.” Harpers Bazaar, 20 Feb 2020, https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a4056/empowering-female-quotes/.

“Highest paid players in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the United States in 2019.” Statistics.com, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1098893/wnba-highest-earners/#:~:text=The%20highest%20earner%20in%20the,her%20performances%20for%20Phoenix%20Mercury.

Student Voice Series- “Footprints on the Moon” by Arlene G., Blue Tie ’24

In our everyday lives, we have this safe space called St. Mary’s Academy, a place where we can be ourselves and not be judged by our race, ethnicity, or color of our skin. The St. Mary’s community is mostly made up of women of color.

 St. Mary’s Academy uses Integral Student Outcomes (ISO) – Live, Love, Learn, and Serve – to teach us how to be good Christians and right-minded persons. We learn to love by the stream of a moral foundation, “upholding Judeo-Christian values, and promoting respect for [ourselves] and others.” By promoting respect for ourselves and others, we are learning to love one another without thinking about our ethnicity, race, or skin color.  By doing this we learn that  we can do anything we put our minds to and we can be anything we want to be. If we want to be the first Latina president, we can. We help inspire all of those little girls who surround us and count on them to be the next Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or the next Kamala Harris. 

The day I found out that Kamala Harris was partnering with Joe Biden for Vice president, I thought about my nieces. I thought about how all girls in Catholic schools would continue to spread awareness, and how that could be them one day. This country needs a woman with a high powered position. We need the reassurance that when we are tempted to fail, if they can do it so can we. 

I recently joined a class through the Stanford Pre-collegiate Program, “Election 2020: A Panoramic View of America’s Decisive Election.” I was able to hear MSNBC´s analyst Ruth Marcus, about how she and her daughters were extremely saddened by  Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.  She said that her daughters had admired Ginsburg from a young age. She also talked about how she would tell her daughters that they could do what Ginsburg did. She talked about the hatred and disrespect  Kamala Harris is receiving, simply because she is a woman of color. The reason why people aren’t in agreement with Harris is that they cannot see themselves listening to a woman of color and doing what she asks. People of color, especially women, need to learn how to earn our respect because not everyone in a high powered position will give it.

I live by a quote that says ¨Do not tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon.¨ Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do. The people that you need with you are people who are going to tell you that you can do anything.  St. Mary’s Academy provides resources to make sure women of color are safe to speak up to issues and take high powered positions in our society.

Photo by Spencer Platt/ Getty Images

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