Congratulations to Mick Fanning, who knocked off Dane Reynolds in the Hurley Pro Trestles surfing contest in southern Orange County, California, yesterday and nabbed $105,000, the largest first-place prize money ever in surfing. It was a sweet, sweet payday, made even more so by Hurley’s last-minute bump of the prize money from 100 grand to 105.

I was just sitting here thinking about what I could do with $100,000—or even $5,000—and for some reason those two numbers kept resonating. And then I remembered: $100,000 is what Hurley paid the male winner of the U.S. Open of Surfing back in July, while the women’s winner was slated to get approximately $5,000 ($4,500, to be precise). Hurley eventually coughed up $10,000 to Courtney Conlogue, but it did so quietly (especially compared to the trumpeting of the $100,000 men’s prize).

Now, it’s true that the U.S. Open was two months ago, but the incessant hype over yesterday’s Hurley Pro payout has rekindled my sense of injustice. I know, I know: Disparity in prize money is nothing new. Wimbledon, where the winnings are identical for men and women throughout the entire purse, is rare. The U.S. Freeskiing world tour, where male winners get $5,000 and women $3,500, is more typical. But sketching out a purse that pays the men’s winner 20 times the women’s is outrageous, insulting, short-sighted, and wrong. And kicking it up to $10,000 might look like an appropriate gesture, but it’s not. If anything, it doubles down the insult. Yes, Conlogue was stoked with the prize, but consider that she’s 16 and still in high school. If not equal pay, then something a lot closer, like 50 grand, would make the right kind of statement.

In an article contrasting the glamour of women’s pro surfing with its difficult economic reality, Hurley’s Pat O’Connell told the Daily Beast that the difference in prize money is simply a business decision: Most of Hurley’s sales come from men’s boardshorts, therefore most of the loot goes to the men. But perhaps feeling the heat of criticism over the U.S. Open purse, he added, “These girls are legitimately amazing surfers. For me, there’s marketability and visibility—I think this new crop has both. They’re good-looking girls, they’re very likable, and their ability levels are so high that they’re catching everyone’s attention.”

Okay, it’s just business. I would argue that it’s a poor business decision to signal to half of the world’s potential surfers (and possible customers) that you place their value at 1/20 that of men’s. I would argue that you’re losing an opportunity to create new surfers, nurture existing surfers, and build tremendous goodwill in a world that’s hungry for companies to act ethically. And I would argue that it’s the responsibility of pro surfing’s governing body, in this case the Association of Surfing Professionals, to set a minimum payout ratio for events it sanctions (and if it already does and if that ratio is 20:1 or more, then it should be ashamed).

Do competitive female surfers attract the same crowds as the men? No. Are they as engaging and entertaining to watch? Generally, no. But does surfing (and Hurley) benefit by putting women closer to equal ground? Absolutely, yes. As Tim Phillips, chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, said when he announced the equal prize money in 2008 (yes, not until 2008), “We believe our decision to offer equal prize money provides a boost for the game as a whole and recognizes the enormous contribution that women players make to the game and to Wimbledon. We hope it will also encourage girls who want a career in sport to choose tennis as their best option. In short, good for tennis, good for women players and good for Wimbledon.”

Consider Roxy. The brand’s support of the women’s surfing market has been nothing short of brilliant. Although it has sponsored comps and wandered into head-scratching brand extensions (skis, anyone?), most of its focus has been on the cute, healthy, and sunshiny side of the surfing. This smart marketing has helped nurture a boom in female surfing, not just getting more more women into the water but even creating an icon—the Roxy girl. It centers around lifestyle, fashion, and clothing, but so what? Roxy showed the freckled, sexy side of surfing, and hallelujah for it. How fitting that Roxy poster girl Kassia Meador is known as much for her stylie film performances as her longboarding titles.

Business is business. Prize money is always going to chase the stars. Victors will always be rewarded not for their time or practice or commitment, but for the simple fact that they bring in spectators and, ultimately, help sell the product that pays for the prize money. But if you can afford to give $200,000 to the two winners of men’s surf contests—barely two months apart, in the middle of the worst economy since the Great Depression—you can afford to give more than $10,000 to the woman who wins one. And if you can’t…well, then, you might want to rethink your business model.

Tagged as: surfing