Soccer

Petition calls for equal pay for US women World Cup soccer champs

In the wake of the US women’s soccer team’s World Cup win Sunday, a new petition is demanding that the United States Soccer Federation pay the championship squad the same amount as the US men.

The US women’s soccer team has won four World Cups in total since the early 1990s, while the men have won zilch.

However, the women earn significantly less than their male counterparts, the Moveon.org petition says.

The women US soccer players earn a maximum of $260,869 for advancing to the World Cup and winning, while the maximum for male US players for doing the same thing is $1,114,429, according to an analysis from The Guardian.

While the women make less, their team has actually generated more revenue than the men. Between 2016 and 2018, the women have brought in $50.8 million, while the men brought in $49.9 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Siri Chilazi, who studies gender equality at the Harvard Kennedy School, says the pay discrepancy is nothing short of discrimination.

“I do think the women’s team makes an extremely strong argument because men and women should get equal pay for equal work. I think their argument is already further bolstered by the fact that they are performing better,” Chilazi said.

“Even if they weren’t, they are doing the exact same job and they are only getting paid less because they are women. That is the definition of gender discrimination,” she continued.

The petition also calls the women players “incredible,” “hardworking,” “talented athletes,” who “are an incredible force and inspiration to us all.”