I am sure by now you have heard that the United States Women’s National Soccer Team is suing the United States Soccer Federation. If not, here is a little background on what has happened. On Thursday, March 21st it was announced that the U.S. National Team filed a wage discrimination action against the US Soccer Federation. This action was signed by five players including Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, and Becky Sauerbrunn, who are signing on behalf of the whole team. The U.S. Women’s Team has won three World Cups and are currently ranked No. 1 in the world, compared to the U.S. Men’s Team which is ranked 26th. The women’s team is making about a quarter of what the men’s team earns. Not only is the women’s team ranked number one, they also generated $20 million more in revenue than the men’s team last year.
The U.S. Women’s Team's claims are supported by the differences between the hotels they stay at compared to the men, the bonuses only the men’s team receives after winning their first 20 games, and more. Twenty is the minimum games the women have to play and win to get paid $99,000 each. However, the men will get paid $263,320 each if they win all twenty games but even if they lose all twenty then they will still get paid $100,000 each. If the men play more matches than twenty then they get between $5,000 and $17,000 while the women do not get paid any type of bonus for each match over the required twenty. This brings up the question of why? Why is there such a large difference in wages?
This is a huge step in reducing wage discrimination, not just in sports but in general. Sports are a microcosm of society; it places issues that might be hard to talk about in a spot light that allows the whole world to talk about them. Wage discrimination is something that happens every day on and off the field. The women of the United States National Team are strong, powerful, and respected women who are perfect to encourage this conversation. Also, sports is the greatest platform to present this topic because it has brought into light many difficult topics such as race, gender, and sexuality. Sports allows these topics to be placed in an arena that seems familiar and comfortable.
Wage discrimination is nothing new to women; throughout history women in the workforce have consistently made less than men. This is not something people think about on an everyday basis, but they should. These women are not only representing women athletes but they are also representing every woman in the work force. The U.S. Women’s National Team is likely to win this action against the U.S. Soccer Federation, but this will also encourage people to think about the pay in all women’s sports. It may not change anything right away because the National team plays on an international stage and while the other women athletes are in leagues set up in the United States, but it will get people thinking and talking about it. This is the first step in any movement and the U.S. Women’s National Team brought the movement to light and it is important that they have.
