US Women's Soccer Team Reaps 'Equal Pay for Men and Women' After 6 Years of Struggle

US Women's Soccer Team Achieves 'Equal Pay for Men and Women' Through Collective Bargaining
From Now On, National Team Players Will Receive $24,000 Regardless of Gender

The United States women's soccer team players are celebrating their victory at the 2019 France World Cup.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Gunchan] "We believe we deserve to be paid more than we currently are."

Three years ago, Megan Rapinoe, the star striker of the U.S. women's soccer team, advocated for equal pay between men and women in an interview with The New York Times (NYT). Rapinoe, one of the most prominent players in women's soccer, led the U.S. to victory by winning the Golden Ball at the 2019 Women's World Cup held in France.

Having fought for six years for equal pay, Rapinoe said, "We will never give up the fight for equality." Her efforts have borne fruit. From now on, players on the U.S. women's soccer team will receive the same level of pay as those on the men's team.

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 18th (local time) that the U.S. Soccer Federation and the men's and women's national team players have signed a collective bargaining agreement centered on equal pay.

Until now, U.S. women's national team players have been paid less than the men's team when playing international A matches, including the World Cup. Previously, female players received $6,750 (about 8.5 million KRW) for participating in World Cup qualifiers, less than half of the $18,125 (about 22.3 million KRW) paid to the men's team. However, from now on, regardless of gender, players selected for the national team will receive $24,000 (about 30 million KRW).

The main basis for the women's team demanding equal pay was their "performance." So far, the women's team has won the World Cup and the Olympics four times each. The women's team has held the FIFA ranking No. 1 since June 2017. In contrast, the men's team has never come close to winning, except for finishing third in the 1930 Uruguay World Cup.

However, the U.S. Soccer Federation has argued that it is difficult to pay the same level of wages because the prize money for the Women's World Cup is less than one-tenth of that for the Men's World Cup. In fact, the total prize money awarded to teams participating in the 2018 Men's World Cup in Russia was $400 million (about 476.2 billion KRW). But the total prize money for the Women's World Cup held in France the following year was $30 million (about 35.7 billion KRW).

The prize money gap between men and women based on World Cup results is also significant. The prize money for the women's team if they win the 2023 Women's World Cup is $8 million. This is less than the prize money ($13 million) awarded to teams ranked 9th to 16th in the 2022 Men's World Cup.

The U.S. women's national team achieved equal pay with the men's team after a persistent six-year struggle. Five female soccer players, including Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Hope Solo, filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2016, arguing that receiving less pay than male players was unfair. In 2019, 28 U.S. women's national team players filed a civil lawsuit demanding $66 million (about 80.8 billion KRW) in damages, claiming the U.S. Soccer Federation violated equal pay laws.

However, the U.S. Federal District Court in Los Angeles dismissed the damages lawsuit in 2020. Molly Levinson, spokesperson for the U.S. national team players who expressed intent to appeal, stated, "We will not give up our hard work toward equal pay," and added, "We will continue to push our commitment to convince women in sports that they are undervalued because of their gender." At that time, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden also said, "Equal pay is needed in U.S. soccer now," and "If I become president, you will receive fair compensation for participating in the World Cup in a different way."

Subsequently, in the appeals court, the women's team players reached a settlement of $24 million (about 30.4 billion KRW), which is one-third of the damages they initially sought, and also secured a promise for a collective bargaining agreement on equal pay.

Meanwhile, countries that have agreed to pay equal amounts to their men's and women's soccer national teams include Norway and New Zealand in 2017, Australia in 2019, and Brazil in 2020.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.