Unequal Pay Causes the Women's Professional Soccer to Fail

People all over America and the world are consumed with watching athletes perform in their various sports. Both male and female athletes compete at such incredible levels that require physical talent and drive. Professional athletes are known to get paid salaries that reflect their talent and abilities. Regardless of gender, professional athletes are drafted to receive professional pay. However, equal pay for male and female athletes with the same credentials does not occur today. There is a belief that male athletes are worth more than female athletes and are better at promoting themselves. Also, women salaries are lower because of their gender and are not

“Equal play. Equal pay.” –U.S. Women’s National Team (Reiher). The gender pay gap is surprisingly still a large problem today. Not only in soccer, but in every sport women exert the most effort, yet they do not receive the credit. The U.S. Woman’s National Team should receive an equal amount of pay as the men’s team because they have won more titles, they are better soccer players, and they bring in more income.

As a matter of fact, professional male players have much less to lose when standing up for equal pay for female athletes: They have a huge viewership, lucrative salaries, numerous sponsorships, secure contracts. In the male-dominated sports industry, if men’s teams stood up and said women deserve equal pay, equal attention, equal programming, it would only push the fight forward faster, and the sports-obsessed world would be forced to pay attention. As we saw with the women’s hockey and soccer teams, women can go it alone, but why should

Lopiano complains that there’s too much of a salaries gap between man and women playing the same sports. “The right to play has been established. However, the issue that has been confronted is the barrier to being treated equally when it comes to money” (Lopiano 1). Most people will say women’s tennis matches are more exciting than men’s matches; men’s victory purses are still considerably higher than women’s victory purses. Top women tennis players earned 59 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. The average total purse was $63,031,000.00 for top men players and $41,000,000.00 for top women players (Daniel Frankl 2). In soccer, the Women’s World Cup soccer team was promised $12,500 if they won compared to the $300,000 male players were to receive. The payout for women players was increased to $50,000 because fans protested the unfair payout gap between the male and female players (Lopiano 1); it’s still 1/6 the payout

The US women’s soccer team are only paid about a fourth of what the men are paid, even though they actually preform at a level well above that of the men’s, and create more income for the corporation; In fact, the women’s soccer team made approximately $20 million more money in revenue than the men’s soccer team ("U.S. Women's Team Files Wage-discrimination Action vs. U.S. Soccer"). Another instance of the men’s team earning more money than the women’s team unfairly is that the women were only paid $2 million dollars total when they won the world cup in 2015, while the men’s team (who got to round 16 before they lost) were paid a total of $9 million dollars ("U.S. Women's Team Files Wage-discrimination Action vs. U.S. Soccer"). That means that the women’s team was paid approximately 22% of what the men’s team was being paid, creating a wage gap that is even larger than what the one from the 1960’s. If you go by the logic of paying someone based on the worker’s effort and skill, as it is stated in the Equal Pay Act, than the women’s team should be paid significantly more than the men’s team, not the other way

Regardless of skin color, women in general somehow always tend to get the short-end of the stick; but that doesn’t mean that they won’t fight for what they believe in. Recently, there has been much debacle in the world of sports. The Guardian posted an article on how the US Women’s Soccer Team is accusing the US Soccer Federation of wage discrimination. Five members of the team filed a federal complaint stating that they were paid four times less than the males within the past year. In the article, soccer player Megan Rapinoe stated during a press release that, “Recently, it has become clear that the federation has no intention of providing us equal pay for equal work.” Meanwhile, The Guardian also took statements from players Hope Solo and Carli Lloyd as they argued on an NBC show that, “In this day and age, it’s about equality. It’s about equal rights. It’s about equal pay. We’re pushing for that. We believe now the time is right because we believe it’s our responsibility for women’s sports and specifically for women’s soccer to do whatever it takes to push for equal pay and equal rights. And to be treated with respect.” Lloyd then added that, “I think we’ve proven our worth over the years. Just coming off a World Cup win, the pay disparity between the men and women is just too large. We want to continue to fight. The generation of players before us fought. And now it’s our job to keep

The development of civil rights women since the 1950’s and 1960’s has been tremendous, but there are still some things that have not changed. Before, women were prohibited from many of the everyday things in our society. Women could not obtain credit cards; they could not attend Ivy League schools, or go on birth control pills. Recently, on March 30, the U.S women’s soccer team filed a complaint to U.S Soccer for wage-discrimination. The individual players of the team earn as little as 40% of what players on the U.S men’s soccer team earns. Not only do they earn significantly less than the men players, but they also play on damaged and dangerous fields, such as the one during their World Cup Victory Tour friendly against Trinidad and Tobago. Even

In every country, soccer stars are celebrated, they are young children’s’ heroes, and they inspire nations. Soccer is played in small villages in Africa, suburbs in America, and the arctic tundra of Russia, it can be played anytime, anywhere. It is the only sport that serves as a universal language, citizens in every country know the basics of soccer. Anyone, of any age, can play. It serves as a common connection for humanity and the players set examples for most of the world. If women are not being paid equally on the only platform that has the ability to reach the entire planet, it is no wonder that so many countries do not believe in women’s rights. However, if they were paid the same as men, they would be setting an example for the entire world. Many countries would begin to better understand that women are equal. After all, so many of life’s lessons are taught to children through games, especially games like soccer. This sport is a very rare, if not the only, opportunity to teach the entire world that women are just as equal as men, and not just on the soccer field. Women’s soccer could serve as the messenger to the world, and “kickoff” a new attitude for the equal treatment of women and really get the ball rolling on equal pay for women. This sport has the unique opportunity to use its influence to change attitudes that will seep

Toady sports is viewed by fans all around the world rather it being basketball, football, or baseball. Sports has become more of a gender controversial topic than simply enjoying the excitement of the players doing what they love to do so well. Women athletes are generally under paid compared to the men’s salaries in various sports do to the lack of viewers. Women sports doesn’t generate enough revenue, so the leagues can’t afford to pay the women as much as the men in their contracts. Women sports are important to the world and the fans and supporters that watch and cheer alongside the players. However due to the lack of viewers, women sports are not generating enough money to allow bigger contracts for women athletes.

Gender inequality is a global downfall, an issue biting society for centuries, yet I find it Australia’s responsibility to lead the world in equality for all of the sporting world.

The dream of equality has been something that people have chased for years. And to some people we may have finally reached this seemingly impossible dream when it comes to gender inequality in the workplace and on the playing field. The world today can at times give the impression of not having any major problem with gender equality when work and sports are involved. This view is usually shattered when something like the women’s soccer scandal will rear its ugly head; forcing people to see past the pretty illusion that has been put in place by people who like the world the way it is. Men and women are not finally equal in the workplace and on the playing field.

In the summer of 2014, 40 of the top female soccer players in the world announced that they are taking a stand against FIFA and the CSA (Canadian Soccer Association), stating that they are prepared to file a lawsuit against the companies. The tension throughout this lawsuit has been building for many years now. At the heart of the argument is the fact that next year’s women’s world cup is planned to take place on artificial turf instead of real grass. (McIntyre 2014). Gender inequality/discrimination is to deny equal rights to one group of people based on their gender. (Bonvillain and Miller 2013: 42). Based on this definition, the women have a very solid case. Forcing the female players to play on the turf field, while the men play on real grass that costs more to uphold and take care of, is treating them inadequately and less important* than the male soccer players. Continuing the trend in our society of male dominance.

Women continued to make challenge men in all jobs. As women became more commonplace in the workforce the demand for equal pay became even stronger. More recently, this issue returned, this time in US soccer. Energized by their World Cup win, key members of the US Women’s National Soccer team, Ali Krieger, Hope Solo, and Becky

How can men still have advantages over women in modern day? Many sports are men dominant, but women have shown to be very competitive as well. According to Andrew Das, a New York Times publisher, the U.S. Soccer, had a pay and working conditions dispute between the women’s national team and the men’s. The issue has been controversial after the U.S. Women's National team (USWNT) became world champions in 2015, and had less pay than the men's team. In the Women’s World Cup, female players had turf fields and in the Men’s World, it was natural grass. Journalist Steve Keating, from The Huffington Post, knows the women's team have brought home three World Cups, meanwhile, the men's team has been ranked 29th in the world. The question is how can the ladies still earn less? Women and men should be paid equally to play the sport they are passionate about. Soccer has the same rules for men and women, therefore, they should be paid fairly. Women soccer players shall not feel less than a man who plays the same sport, but earns more than her.

About two years ago, in 2016, five high-impact players took a stand of the field complaining to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about the tremendous wage gap between the men’s team and the women's team. Anyone in their right mind could recognize the obvious gender discrimination towards these