Sydney Lorton 8th Grade Humanities 5/16/16 Equal Play, Equal Pay: For All Fields
How would you feel if you weren’t given equal opportunities because of something you couldn’t and didn’t want to change? The US Women’s Soccer Team is dealing with that exact dilemma and being discriminated against because of their gender. They get paid less than the men’s team even though they are just as successful, if not better. They have won three World Cups, and get paid less than half of what men do for the exact same achievement (Carli Lloyd, New York Times). The federation won’t do anything about it, but we can. I don’t want to be discriminated against or have less opportunities because of my gender. Something needs to change, not just in this field, but in all areas.
The United States Women’s National Team is the most successful team in the history of both Men’s and Women’s US Soccer history. They have won three World Cups and helped generate $17.7 million in profit for the federation. The men’s bonus for a World Cup win is $390,000, and for women it’s $75,000. Men get $69,000 for making a World Cup roster. Women get $15,000 for making the World Cup team (Carli Lloyd, New York Times). The men’s team earned $9 million in the 2014 World Cup for losing in the Round of 16. The women made $2 million when they won the 2015 championship. “You can argue that based on their success, they’re entitled to even higher pay, but the law only requires at least equal pay,” Kessler said. “That just makes the case for equal pay all the more compelling. Kessler said the women are paid between 28% and 60% less than men, depending on the type of match (Q13 FOX News). Also, each year the United States men’s and women’s teams each play a minimum of twenty friendly matches. The top five players on the men’s team make an average of $406,000 each year for these games, whereas the top five women are guaranteed only $72,000 each year, which is less than a fourth of what the men are paid (Carli Lloyd, New York Times). This is a problem for women in general, and the gender pay gap is still large. In 2014, women working full time in the United States typically were paid only 79 percent of what mean were paid. That’s a pay gap of 21 percent (AAUW).
Carli Lloyd, one of the co-captains for the US Women’s Team, as well as four other teammates filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency that enforces equal pay law. “Simply put we’re sick of being treated like second-class citizens. It wears on you after a while. And we are done with it” (Carli Lloyd, New York Times). The federation wouldn’t do anything, ever after multiple attempts, so they had to go to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Even though they seem to be the driving force of the federation, they were told it wasn’t rational and that they have a certain amount of money already set aside for them.
I do understand that the Men’s World Cup generates a vastly larger amount more money globally, but the women’s team is thought to have a profit of $5.2 million in 2017, while men are thought to lose almost $1 million (Carli Lloyd, New York Times). I’m not against the men’s team by any means. They are good players and good people as well. It’s against the federation, who hasn’t supported the team or done anything to help the cause.
I am a club player for soccer and I want to have the same opportunities as anyone else. I have dreams that I want to be able to achieve. The goal for the women’s team is to completely abolish this problem for incoming players and close the pay gap. Sadly, as a female, I won’t just have this problem for sports, but for every aspect of life. No matter what job I choose, there will be a pay gap simply because of my gender. For a large portion of my working life, just like many other women, this has been and will be an ongoing problem. At least for this one field we can make a difference, which can be a starting point for a long movement to close the pay gap. I don’t want to be discriminated against just because of my gender.
Gender Bias Wage Discrimination is unfortunately not just a problem on the soccer field, but in every field of work. If we want to make the change, we must do it ourselves. If the people who believe in it don’t do it, who will? We can’t back down anymore. We must stand up for what is right and stop discrimination.
______________________ My name is Sydney Lorton and I am an eighth grade student at High Tech Middle North County and play both club and school soccer. ________________________
"‘Equal Play. Equal Pay.’ U.S. Women Soccer Players Charge Pay Discrimination." Q13 FOX News. N.p., 31 Mar. 2016. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
Lloyd, Carli. "Carli Lloyd: Why I’m Fighting for Equal Pay." The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Apr. 2016. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
"The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Spring 2016)." AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2016.