Fans in attendance at Stade de Lyon in France chanted for the U.S. women to receive equal pay following their victory at the World Cup on Sunday.
The US beat the Netherlands 2-0 to win their second straight and fourth FIFA Women’s World Cup in history. Fans at the stadium began an “equal pay” chant upon their victory:
EQUAL PAY #USWNT pic.twitter.com/hQMGz6q54H
— Mina Park (@minapark) July 7, 2019
The compensation for the women’s national team compared to the men’s has been a bubbling issue the last few years and has really hit its peak this week with the women in the spotlight.
Megan Rapinoe said on Friday that the prize money for the Women’s World Cup should be higher like the Men’s.
“It certainly is not fair,” she said. “We should double it now and use that number to double it or quadruple it for the next time.”
The big issue is the respective amounts the women and men are paid by our governing body to be members of the national team. The amount of money women receive for making the team, playing in games, and achieving bonuses, is significantly less than the men for achieving the same feats.
Here’s what I wrote on the issue in 2016 and still believe to be the case:
“We support the USWNT in their efforts to receive improved pay and conditions. We also believe that if they’re outdrawing and bringing in more revenue than the men, they should be paid more. Conversely, if conditions change where the men start to bring more revenue, they should get paid more. The situation should be fluid based on who’s bringing in the money, re-evaluated every few years.”
Billie Jean King, who has been at the forefront of women’s rights especially in a sports realm, addressed the matter on Twitter after the World Cup final.
Congratulations to the #USWNT on their 4th World Cup win! These athletes have brought more attention, support, & pride to women’s sport than perhaps any other team in history. It is long past time to pay them what they rightly deserve. #USAvNED #WorldCupfinal #EqualPay
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) July 7, 2019
There’s much more pressure on the country now to make this right, though the caveat of how much revenue they’re generating must be considered as I mentioned.
