Staley Deserves Fair Compensation
by Mandy Medlock on Nov 20, 2017
I adore our South Carolina Gamecocks! I especially love reveling in the recent successes of the Women’s and Men’s Basketball programs.
What a tremendous turnaround Coach Dawn Staley and Coach Frank Martin have provided to our beloved university’s basketball programs. I admire both coaches and all of their accomplishments at South Carolina, so I decided to play a little “Staley v. Martin One-on-One.”
| Coach Dawn Staley | Coach Frank Martin | |
| Date Hired | 2008 | 2012 |
| First SEC Championship | 2013-14 | None to date |
| # of suspensions | 0 | 1 |
| First #1 ranking | 2014 | None to date |
| # of SEC regular season Championships | 4 | 0 |
| # of SEC Tournament Championships | 3 | 0 |
| SEC Coach of the Year | 3 times | None to date |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | 6 | 1 |
| National Championships | 1 | 0 |
| Annual SALARY | $2.1 million | $3.3 million |
To review: Staley has been employed at USC 4 more years than Martin; she has never been suspended; she’s won numerous championships and coaches awards, but she earns a full $1.2 million dollars less per year than her counterpart Coach Martin. In other words, Coach Staley earns about 64% of what Coach Martin earns, which is an even bigger gap than the average gender wage gap of 27% in South Carolina.
Both coaches are exemplary; however, Coach Staley has proven to deliver excellence year after year at the University of South Carolina. She is truly among the top female coaches in the nation, having just been named the Head Coach of the USA Women’s National Team, yet she still does not earn equal pay to the man that holds the exact same position at the University of South Carolina.
IT IS 2017. Why is this still happening? Are women ever going to be held to the same value as men; how about to greater value when we do a better job? This is my university, why aren’t we doing better? Could we not be a flagship, a leader towards equity?
After looking up these numbers and ruminating on the issue, I’m ready to take the following steps to support equal pay for Coach Staley, for all women employed at the University of South Carolina and throughout our state:
- I will be writing to each member of the Board of Trustees at the university: http://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/board_of_trustees/members/index.php
- I will lend greater support to WREN and like-minded organizations that are advocating for equal pay.
- I will take a look at my own place of employment to ensure women and men are being paid equitably.
It’s time for this to change, Let’s use our collective power to change it, and as always, Go Gamecocks!
[Left to Right: Mandy Medlock, Ella Augustine, Alice McCrory, Sarah McCrory]
