The answer to the unequal pay of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team is- Systemic Gender Discrimination
The answer to the unequal pay of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team is- Systemic Gender Discrimination
The argument is about the NATIONAL team players salaries in the World Cup.
Not about the Men’s Major League soccer club teams or the Women’s Soccer League. Stop comparing the men’s league teams salaries to the women’s league teams salaries. That is not what the lawsuit filed is about.
The reason this is not about the leagues is because the US Soccer Federation pays the salaries of the Men’s U.S. National Team players only. It does not pay the salaries of every club team like Portland Thorns FC or San Jose Earthquakes.
So why are the Women’s National team players getting paid less? Significantly less- The U.S. Men’s National team got paid $9 million after they lost in the Round of 16 in the 2014 World Cup. The U.S. Women’s National team got paid $2 million for winning the 2015 World Cup. (http://amp.usatoday.com/story/29839599/)
Is it because the U.S. men’s team during the world cup has more viewership?
No. The Women’s World Cup final in 2015 broke viewership records it even beat the TV audience for the NBA finals that year and the World Series reaching 25.4 million viewers- a record for ANY soccer game show in the U.S. (https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/sports/soccer/usmnt-uswnt-soccer-equal-pay.amp.html)
Is it because the U.S. men’s team brings in more revenue from the World Cup?
No. The women’s U.S. National team brought in $6.6 million in PROFIT from game revenue from the 2015 World Cup. The men’s U.S. National team brought in $2 million in profit in game revenue from the 2014 World Cup. (https://www.salon.com/2017/10/11/usmnt-world-cup-uswnt/)
Is it because FIFA and the U.S. Soccer Federation don’t have any extra money to give to the women?
No. FIFA paid to make "United Passions," the league's $27 million history film, which was almost universally panned and made only $918 (yes, less than $1,000) at the American box office. (Washington Post- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/07/06/the-sad-gender-economics-of-the-womens-world-cup/?utm_term=.acfe11402170)
And, it cost the U.S. Soccer Federation $6.2 million to fire former men’s coach Klinsmann.(https://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/07/07/sports/soccer/womens-world-cup-final-was-most-watched-soccer-game-in-united-states-history.html?referer=)
These two examples prove the poor financial decisions made by these governing bodies that do affect this argument of why more money was not given to the U.S. Women’s National Team players for their performance when there is obviously money to spend.
Is it because the men get more sponsorship money? That is part of it, but why is that?
“Others argue that it's all part of a bitter cycle: Women's sports are seen as lesser moneymakers, ignored in media and merchandising deals, given less dramatic coverage, fewer cameras, less airtime — all of which might help explain why the sport is overlooked in the first place. An updated 25-year study in the journal Communication & Sport last month, titled "It’s Dude Time!," found that women's sports were featured in about 2 to 5 percent of all sports coverage last year, less than even in 1989. The women's tournament's strong ratings and increased visibility, analysts said, could compel more networks and sponsors to take notice.” (Washington Post- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/07/06/the-sad-gender-economics-of-the-womens-world-cup/?utm_term=.acfe11402170)
Looking into the U.S. Soccer Federation financials- the Nike Sponsorship with the U.S. Soccer Federation included player bonuses of $250,000 to the Women’s National Team for the 2015 World Cup and $250,000 to the Men’s National Team for the 2014 World Cup. So Nike is offering an equal distribution of team bonuses regardless of how the teams do or their gender. So is it the sponsorships?(https://www.ussoccer.com/~/media/files/federation-services/financial/us-soccer-federation-2016-audited-financials-final.pdf?la=en)
Do any other sports pay men and women equally?
Yes. Men get paid the same as women in figure skating and gymnastics even though the women’s side generates more viewers and revenue. (https://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2016/04/06/uswnt-us-soccer-wage-discrimination-revenue-unequal-pay)
So why the inequality in pay?
First, there are THREE women on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Soccer Federation out of 15 people= 20% https://www.ussoccer.com/about/governance/board-of-directors
Second, the Women’s U.S. National team is treated unfairly by the governing bodies- U.S. Soccer Federation and FIFA I.e. the women’s team had to play on artificial turf fields and low quality fields for some tournament games. (http://time.com/4140786/womens-soccer-team-turf/)
So the answer is- systemic gender discrimination. There needs to be more women in governance and there needs to be equal treatment and equal pay amongst athletes regardless of gender or any other bias.