Bridget Gordon
Writer | Advocate
“[…] the fight between the USWNT and the Federation exposes how little has actually changed in the broader fight for equal rights and against gender discrimination. US Soccer, and their corporate partners, market the team as a group of badass warrior women who dominate on the pitch, and then insist in closed boardrooms that paying those women on equal terms with their male counterparts is simply not feasible. Even as the Federation brings in substantial revenues for fairly modest investment, paying these women what they’re worth is characterized as an unjustifiable economic burden.
“The pay gap between the USWNT and their male colleagues is a singular manifestation of the persistent and frustrating reality that women’s sports are undervalued, financially and culturally. And while “business concerns” are cited as the limiting factor when it comes to investing in the women’s game, the truth may be much simpler, and much more difficult to address: That despite being held up as standard-bearers for women, the USWNT still can’t escape sexism.”