US Women's soccer: the fight for financial equality
On the 6th July 2015 the world stopped to watch as the US Women’s soccer team beat Japan 5-2 in the World Cup final. Their victory was a landmark for US soccer. It was the women’s 3rd World Cup title. An accomplishment unparalleled by the US men’s team. But behind all the glory lay a shocking truth. It was reported that at the time of their win, the female players were making 40% of what the male players were. Despite attracting similar crowds and achieving greater success, the US women were getting paid considerably less than the men’s team.
Enough was enough. That World Cup win had attracted more than 25 million viewers in the US. This, coupled with their previous four Olympic gold medals, meant the women’s team had to make a stand. Intense negotiations with US soccer chiefs ensued and their fight for financial equality was well and truly underway.
More than a year after filing a wage discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, their battle against the US federation finally came to an end, with an agreement reached on the 5th April 2017. The deal would see an increase in match bonuses and base pay, better per diem allowances, improved travel benefits and better financial support for pregnant players. The deal would run through to 2021, covering the 2019 World Cup in France and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
However, despite the progress, the deal still didn’t guarantee equal pay with their male counterparts. Former head of the Women’s Tennis Association, Stacey Allaster, oversaw the introduction of equal prize money for all four of tennis’ major grand slams. She says despite pay not yet being equal, women soccer players are making important steps forward. “I’ve got so much respect for what the US soccer team did, and they just need to continue the fight. The athletes have the power. They have the voice and the credibility and working alongside administrators, lawyers and public relations specialists to develop the campaigns, they can figure out what is the right way to go about convincing the leadership of national governing bodies or professional teams that they deserve equal pay.”
It remains to be seen whether the US Women’s soccer team will ever get completely the same financial rewards as the men, but after Norway’s recent move towards equality- it is certainly possible.
