New York, NY—This year has been hard for us, from COVID to sports, Black Lives Matter, the death of RBG, and lastly, the election. But there is a long-standing problem in women’s soccer, something that is not talked about a lot. Women’s soccer players get paid less than the players in men’s soccer, even if the women are better or worse players.
From 2010 to 2018, the women’s players were paid $34.1 million less than the men. This is a problem for everyone, but mostly for the younger people like kids, who might play in their future and protest for this equal pay when we are older.
But not everyone thinks that women should get paid more. A lot of people have different opinions about this topic. Some people agree that women should have less pay and some people think that they shouldn’t. When speaking about the lawsuit filed against the USSF, Meg Kelly of the Washington Post said that the women who filed against the USSF also argue the team’s success has “translated into substantial revenue generation and profits for USSF,” meaning they got money from the way the women have been playing well. “During the period relevant to this case, the Women’s National Team (WNT) earned more in profit and/or revenue than the MNT [Men’s National Team].” A lot of people think that women should get paid more. Siena Green said. “No, it is not fair. The men may be better or worse, but they still do the same thing as women.” A lot of people think that women should get paid more, but when I talked to a family friend Rima Sidhu, who played soccer in college, this is what she says about this cause: “I felt that when I was in college, both of our soccer teams received equal support from the school and athletic department. I’m sure it’s different at some big state schools though”.
All in all, Women are equal to everyone— they deserve to be recognized and rewarded for all that they do. So we continue to wonder— are there going to be changes made? Make sure you go watch the women or men take action on ESPN.