US women’s football team

The US Women’s National Team has set records for wins and audiences, yet are paid less than the men’s team.

In the recent Women’s World Cup final, over chants of “equal pay”, the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) won its fourth championship – and also fuelled a larger conversation around wage parity.

Overall, women in the US are paid around 20% less than men. The disparity is especially notable in women’s football, as the USWNT has set records for both world championships and television audiences. The men’s team is considerably less successful, having never made it into a World Cup final (and not even qualifying for the 2018 tourney). Yet according to a lawsuit filed in March by members of the women’s team against the US Soccer Federation, male players would earn $13,166 (£10,593) a game, compared to $4,950 for the women, if each won 20 exhibition games a year.

However, the figures are more complex because the women’s and men’s teams have different unions and payment structures. It’s unclear where the money would come from to equalise pay. The Norwegian solution has involved the men’s footballers agreeing to a small pay cut, in order to achieve gender parity.

It’s not just about money. In Norway, Ballon d’Or winner and star footballer Ada Hegerberg left the national team due to what she called a lack of respect surrounding equality. In the US, the female players are also suing for equal working conditions, such as the type of turf they play on. So while the USWNT has become an icon of the global fight for workplace equality, it also shows how tricky the mechanics of achieving this remain.

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Image credit: Piero Zagami and Michela Nicchiotti.