Respect is also measured in pay, Chancellor Olaf Scholz repeatedly emphasized during the election campaign. Now the SPD politician wants to talk to DFB director Oliver Bierhoff about aligning the premiums for the association’s men’s and women’s teams.
“Equal pay for equal work” – Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz last recalled this maxim on the occasion of “Equal Pay Day” in March. The background to the statement was that, according to the Federal Ministry of Labor, there was a wage gap of 18 percent between men and women in Germany.
Olaf Scholz wants to talk to Oliver Bierhoff about money
This gap is even greater in football – and Scholz has now commented on this on Twitter. “It’s 2022. Women and men should be paid equally. That also applies to sport, especially national teams,” wrote the Chancellor, referring to the women’s DFB team, which is currently fighting for the European title in England.
And the SPD politician also wants to talk to association director Oliver Bierhoff about the unequal payment of men and women in the DFB jersey. “Of course he will also be happy to talk to Mr. Bierhoff about it,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit on Wednesday in Berlin after Bierhoff had referred to Scholz’s tweet on ARD that evening: “I’d be happy to invite him over. Then I’ll clarify him a bit better about the numbers,” said the former professional soccer player on ARD. He pointed out that the DFB paid the women a “record bonus” and that they found the same conditions (about the size of the coaching staff) as the men.
Nevertheless, the bonus for a possible victory in the European Championship is not yet close to the money that the men collect for success in major tournaments – not to mention the salary differences in the Bundesliga. The DFB would pay 60,000 euros per player for the EM victory. For the players of the men’s national team, the association would have paid 400,000 euros each if they won the tournament in 2021. For both amounts, normal earning women and men in Germany have to work long hours.
The European football union Uefa also pays out fewer bonuses at the women’s European Championship than at the men’s tournament. Nevertheless, the men’s national team also generates significantly higher income for the DFB than the women’s team through TV money, merchandise, etc.
So there should be a lot to talk about between Messrs. Scholz and Bierhoff. However, it is doubtful whether the maxim “equal pay for equal work” also applies in professional football.
Sources: , , DPA news agency
Source: Stern
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