The Gender Wage Gap In Sports: Soccer
The Gender Wage Gap: it's something that is often discussed in passing but we have yet to see this issue really break through into mainstream. Why is that? It can partially be due to the fact that it's not easily identifiable. Exposing the gender wage gap is something that's going to require a lot of finesse and a lot of support. Women now more than ever, have to come together in an effort to declare in one voice:
WE WANT EQUAL PAY.
Especially if they're doing the same damn job as someone of the male gender. There is no bigger industry than that of sports that can truly showcase how wide the wage gap is. Sports is available to any party, it's viewed on TV and streamed online through masses of people all over the world.
This is where the exposure can begin.
Taking a dive into the gender wage gap is a huge dive; it's not just jumping into the kid's pool. It's important for us as women to remember that sports is just one industry, but because it is so readily available to people all over the world, we're gonna explore the Sports Industry today.
One of the more recent cases is the clear difference between the National Men's Soccer Team and The National Women's Soccer Team. While the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team has gotten a raise (announced this year), the fact that this conversation had to happen is crazy. Only as of this year are the women receiving better hotel and travel accommodations, and will be reimbursed for the years when their per diems were less than those of the men. If we're talking about performance, the women's team has played more games than the men's team and in fact, they've had a better record. Nearly 23 million viewers tuned in to watch women bring victory to the U.S., and they only earned $2 million; this in comparison to the U.S. men's team WHICH RECEIVED $6 MILLION AND LOST IN THE FIRST ROUND.
The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team won the Women's World Cup in 2015.
In March of this year, five players on the women's team issued a complaint against U.S. Soccer before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. That complaint has yet to be resolved.
It seems that with time, progress will come. But in a world that has too often dismissed our gender, we have to push with a sense of urgency before the issue becomes an afterthought.
