Addressing The Gender Pay Gap With Former WNBA Player Angel McCoughtry

Many women have been and still continue to be paid less than men. From corporate America to professional sports there remains a looming problem— the gender pay gap. And female professionals are speaking out. Angel McCoughtry, who played thirteen seasons in the WNBA, has inspired hundreds if not thousands of women and girls. That’s due to her groundbreaking career. While at Louisville she was in four NCAA tournaments. In 2009 she was the No.1 draft pick in the WNBA and ended up playing for Atlanta Dream.

Although McCoughtry no longer plays in the WNBA she hasn’t stopped playing basketball. Now she is in a league called Athletes Unlimited. The organization was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in 2023. Athletes Unlimited owns and operates professional women’s softball, lacrosse, volleyball and basketball leagues. And she plays for a cause through the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

But being a female professional athlete isn’t always a positive experience, especially when it comes to the gender pay gap. In 2022 the average NBA player made over five million dollars even though WNBA players were paid $120,000 per year on average. Sadly, in 2020 the average American woman’s income was only 82.3% of what men made. I spoke with two-time Olympian Angel McCoughtry about the gender pay gap and why female professionals should be paid equally.

Women Across All Industries Deserve Equal Pay

Personal financial advising has one of the largest gender pay gaps across industries. The average male personal financial advisor makes $103,220 every year while female personal financial advisors make $65,208 annually. This is a clear example of pay inequality for women in the workplace. The gender wage gap is even worse in professional basketball. McCoughtry did not hold back when it came to discussing the gender pay gap in her line of work.

“I believe that women have to show that they can work just as hard as their male counterparts in anything, whether it’s corporate, whether it’s entertainment, whether it’s sports,” she said. “I don’t think things should be based on gender. We have to stop paying people based on gender when people can do the job,” she told me.

Black Female Professionals Are Paid Even Less

Black women only made 64% of what white male professionals earned. McCoughtry doesn’t just believe all women deserve equal pay. She also wants to stress the importance of equal pay for Black women. On average we are paid less than white women. McCoughtry wants readers to know why it matters.

“Black women deserve to be paid equally as well. Not just women, but Black women. We talked about women. Now you have Black women. We already know the racial injustice within our community with Black people,” McCoughtry told me. And I completely agree with her. So much of the fight for equal pay in the workplace is dominated by prominent white female leaders.

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