I took a huge pay cut to become a pro-footballer – it’s time for pay equality for men and women, says Rachel Corsie
BECOMING a pro footballer might mean snapping up a mansion for most Premier League players – but for women there is a different reality.
Scotland captain Rachel Corsie knows only too well the sacrifices female players have to make to get on to the property ladder.
At the age of 22, the Aston Villa defender had a full-time job at one of the big four accounting firms in Glasgow, with a salary large enough to afford a house in the city centre.
As she had played at an amateur level since she was a child, you might think she would have jumped at the chance to turn professional.
But it took her two and a half years to make the leap, as she knew her salary as a player would not be enough to make ends meet.
Speaking on International Women’s Day, Rachel says: “My salary went down by two thirds which was something to take into consideration.
“Prior to that I had been working 55-60 hours a week at the accounting firm, studying for my degree as a chartered accountant for 25 hours and seven training sessions a week while also squeezing in professional exams.
“I was stubborn and wanted to make it work despite the fact that there aren’t physically enough hours in the week.
“I had always been more focused on academia but it was the partner at the firm, who is a huge football fan and a massive support to me, who pointed out what a huge opportunity I had and one that wouldn’t come around often.
“It did make me consider what was more important — a good wage or what I actually enjoy, and that was always going to be football.”
In 2014, Rachel, originally from Aberdeen, signed for Notts County.
But pursuing her dream left her with money worries for the first time in her career, as she was paying a mortgage.
Rachel, 33, says: “There was a time when it was a really tight squeeze.
“From a fairly young age I had a mortgage to pay, which was an obligation and couldn’t be avoided. But my income had dropped dramatically.
“The first few years of going professional did mean making a lot of sacrifices but I made the best of it and that is no longer the case.”
Rachel, who signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Aston Villa in January last year, adds: “I am fortunate in that I have always had a very supportive family and my knowledge of finance meant I was able to manage. But I know that’s not the case for everyone.”
Research by finance website Stipendium shows a player in the Women’s Super League takes home an average of £47,000 a year.
That is a tiny fraction of the average male player’s £60,000 a week, or £3.12million a year.
For women players, a mortgage loan-to-income ratio of four times their salary means they can borrow no more than £188,000 towards a home.
Better venues
To buy the average UK property, a mortgage of £240,972 is required once a 15 per cent deposit of £42,525 has been placed, leaving the average WSL player nearly £53,000 short.
But the pay gap is not exclusive to women’s football, as England cricketer Sarah Glenn well knows.
Male players will earn £24,000 to £100,000 for their involvement in this summer’s The Hundred cricket tournament, while Sarah and her fellow female players will earn £3,600 to £15,000.
The 23-year-old from Derby plays as a leg-break bowler and is ranked second in the world bowling rankings in the T20I format.
She says: “There’s a long way to go until we are earning the same as the men and it’s really important we keep moving forward to reduce that gap.
“Obviously as a player you want to earn more, of course you do. But we also just want the game to be bigger, in better venues, with more fans.
“We need to keep growing women’s cricket, bringing more fans in, and the most important thing is that salaries keep rising in line with the game’s growth.”
Sarah is also aware that her salary may not support her in retirement as a man’s might, so, like Rachel, she is still in education.
She says: “I’m still studying now to get my degree in sports science so that I have options for work after my cricket career.
“Luckily I didn’t have to work alongside that, as my family supported me in the early days.
“I couldn’t have done it without them so I’m very lucky.
“If a young girl can see cricket as a viable career option then that’s really important, so we do need to keep growing salaries for women players.”
Thankfully the disparity between men and women’s sports is no longer going unnoticed.
Following England Lionesses’ historic win in the Euros last year, the industry is beginning to address the gap.
In January it was announced that all Welsh players will be paid the same for representing their country, after an agreement was made by the Football Association of Wales.
Male players took a 25 per cent pay cut to enable the same rise for female players, which is a huge step for equality in the game.
And in December 2022, Scotland’s women’s team, led by Rachel, launched legal action against the Scottish FA in a fight over equal pay and conditions.
The case, which remains open, was born after Rachel witnessed the treatment of female athletes during her time in America.
The US Women’s National Team secured a pay-out of more than £17million in a landmark battle for equal pay.
Rachel says: “I think the way that female athletes are celebrated in the US is incredible and they’re one of the most progressive countries in terms of female sportspeople.
“The athletes’ achievements are really celebrated and I’ve really tried to draw on that. I’ve always naturally wanted to be someone who drives standards.
“The biggest thing for a team, no matter what the nation, is success.
“For Scotland, we want to make the best chance to be there too.
“That’s why we’re battling for equity and access to the same resources to perform at that elite level.”