South Africa’s 2023 Women’s World Cup squad will travel to New Zealand after a dispute highlighting gender pay gaps was resolved. Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/ BackpagePix
R55 000 bonus for Banyana Banyana labelled a slap in the face and unfair
The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) says the bonus Banyana Banyana will get is unfair for the group of hard working female athletes.
South Africa’s 2023 Women’s World Cup squad will travel to New Zealand after a dispute highlighting gender pay gaps was resolved. Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/ BackpagePix
The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) says it believes the R55 000 bonus that players for the South African women’s senior national team (Banyana Banyana) will receive for reaching Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) finals is unfair.
Banyana Banyana booked their spot in the finals by beating Zambia 1-0 in the semi-final. They will be playing the final on Saturday in Morocco.
CGE UNHAPPY ABOUT BANYANA BANYANA BONUS
The Commission for Gender Equality said it believes this amount is unfair for a group of hard-working female athletes who have performed excellently to fly the South African flag high at this tournament.
The CGE said from their understanding players in the senior national men’s team receive different bonus amounts when they participate in tournaments of the same level, and this should be a cause for concern in the sport and athletic fraternity.
CGE spokesperson, Javu Baloyi said the unfairness cannot be allowed to continue.
Baloyi said to the best of their knowledge, the South African Football Association (SAFA) had committed to paying Bafana Bafana players R250,000 each had they qualified for the upcoming FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar.
“The CGE is failing to understand why Banyana Banyana players are not remunerated on the same scale with their male counterparts for all the matches won to reach the finals on Saturday in Morocco.
“The CGE is aware that women’s football is not attracting as many sponsorships as the men’s, and we view that as yet another form of systemic gender inequality in our society. We are of the view that it is the duty of the office bearers at SAFA to source more funds to compensate the women’s team for their sterling work. The women’s team is the country’s pride and joy, and the players and technical team deserve better treatment and more respect.”
Javu Baloyi
The CGE also called on SAFA to re-think the bonus structure for Banyana Banyana and bring it on par with remuneration structures for the men’s team.
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