According to a recent Seton Hall Sports Poll sponsored the Sharkey Institute & the Stillman School of Business 91% of women believe that women should get equal pay for playing football, while 74% of men disagree. The same goes for professional sports. Only 59 percent agree with this sentiment, but 79 percent of women think equal pay should be the norm. This is a good start, but there's still a lot to do before it becomes a reality.
Sandra Bullock
During the U.S. Women's World Cup, Sandra Bullock and other female sports stars called for equal pay for women. They aren't the only women who play sports; many men also are underpaid. The 2018 Women's World Cup Best Team Award went to the US Women's National Team. The team was presented with the award by Bullock. Alex Morgan, the Best Female Athlete winner, represents the team.
The United States Women's National Soccer Team took center stage at the 2019 ESPY Awards, where Bullock presented the Best Team Award to the team led by Megan Rapinoe, the Golden Boot Award winner of the FIFA Women's World Cup. Sandra Bullock wore monochrome black and accompanied Megan Rapinoe in a double-breasted jacket adorned with flapper-style flapper tassels.
Alex Morgan
There's a long way to go before the United States women's national team earns the same as its male counterparts. While equal pay for women's soccer in the United States is a goal that should be pursued, there are steps that can still be taken. Cherita Ellens from Women Employed, CEO, says that women currently earn 80c for every dollar made by men. Ellens says this is still a significant gap but is optimistic that women's teams will eventually attain equal pay for equal work. Ellens hopes that the players will make this a reality.
Equal pay is subjective. The women's side should have won the 2015 World Cup if the men won. But, it doesn't necessarily mean that women's teams shouldn't get the same rewards as the men. The women's team has been playing for more games that the men's. They have had to work much harder to keep up. The World Cups prize money is no different. But not all players get called up for every camp. Who plays what depends on injury, coaching decisions and how many games each team plays.
U.S. Soccer
An historic agreement was reached by the USSF with soccer unions to guarantee equal pay for both men and women playing soccer. This agreement guarantees that both sides receive equal pay and share in the prize money earned at World Cups. The agreement states that men and woman will be paid equally at non World Cup tournaments. Women and men will earn the same amount of money at home and abroad, as long as they play the same number of games.
In September, Cone, a former women's national team member, said he would not sign a contract with any team that did not offer equal prize money. On Tuesday, Cone reached a deal and the women's association supported it. The men's union has lawyers watching the negotiations, and the women's players association congratulated the players on winning their battle against gender discrimination. Leaders of the women's football players' union stated that they would continue holding U.S. Soccer accountable.
United States Women's National Team
The prize money is the biggest gap in soccer's pay. The 2022 FIFA World Cup will see men's teams competing for almost $440 million, while women are competing for only $30 million. Five top female soccer players have filed a lawsuit calling for equal pay. They claim that their wages are fourfold lower than those of their male counterparts. Equal pay for women in soccer is long overdue. Why is it still a problem though?
There are many causes for the disparity in women's and men's salaries. Women have always had to compete with men in order to survive. The difference in pay has been significant. The USSF has not always been very transparent about their salaries, and the women on its team are no exception. This explains why their recent public relations campaign. A USSF spokesman told Reuters that the organization has a "strong commitment" to equal pay for all players.