Honestly, I'm not a soccer fan. I barely watched the World Cup and I could only tell you who Alex Morgan is because my guy friends are borderline obsessed with her. Pretty much, if you asked me, I would tell you Mia Hamm is still on the team, and that the last time I played soccer was when I was 7, and I only wanted to play goalie because running wasn't my thing. But I'm all for everything 'Merica and when they won, it was pretty cool.
But you know what is not so cool? Wage discrimination. Yeah, we all know white women are paid 73 cents on the dollar to their male counterparts and of course, that's not fair because there should be equal pay for equal work. But in sports, equal pay for equal work can get a little messy. Just to clear up any doubts on how hard these women work and the results that are shown on the field, ESPN W offers more insight into the lawsuit here.
I can be totally chill with and support women who devote their lives to a sport despite my disinterest in it, male or female. So in this case, the U.S. Women's National Team is right. They are sick and tired of being paid as low as 40 percent to their male counterparts - and rightfully so. It's painful to see such disparity in income when their skill clearly should be rewarded for their hard work and determination. Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Alex Morgan filed the complaint against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission because remember, this is their livelihood. Of course, it's entertainment for some. But why is it fair that the men bring home more simply for being men? They don't win more, they don't. Maybe this is an individual case? No, it's not. According to FiveThirtyEight.com, similar players (i.e. Solo at goalie and Lloyd, a major goal-scorer) have such a disparity in wages as shown below:
- Lloyd and Solo: $240,019 each
- Dempsey: $428,022
- Howard: $398,495
Remember: the women won the 2015 FIFA World Cup. The USWNT is also looking to improve their working conditions. For example, they want similar travel accommodations, better facilities to practice and work out in, and to play on the same high-level grass, to name a few demands. So the world begs you, EOCC, take this up. Separate what we consider entertainment and what the lucky consider their livelihood. The value of the sport is not depleted just because they are women, and the men's earnings should not be inflated simply because they are men. Just food for thought.
