Players for the U. S. women
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Players for the U. S. women’s national soccer team have filed a federal gender discrimination lawsuit seeking pay that is equitable to that of their male counterparts.
The action comes just three months before the team will defend its title at the Women’s World Cup in France.
The players allege that they have been subject to ongoing “institutionalized gender discrimination,” including unequal pay, despite having the same job responsibilities as players on the men’s national team. The 28 members of the current national team player pool joined in the class-action lawsuit against the U. S. Soccer Federation, which was filed Friday in federal court in Los Angeles under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The players are seeking equitable pay and treatment, in addition to damages including back pay.
“We believe it is our duty to be the role models that we’ve set out to be and fight to what we know we legally deserve,” forward Christen Press told The Associated Press. “And hopefully in that way it inspires women everywhere.”
The U. S. Women’s National Team Players Association was not party to the lawsuit, but in a statement said it “supports the plaintiffs’ goal of eliminating gender-based discrimination by USSF.”
The U. S. Soccer Federation didn’t have an immediate comment.
Pay differences are particularly apparent on the international level, namely in World Cup prize money. France, the winner in Russia last year, was awarded $38 million, while the team that wins the women’s tournament in France later this year will share less than a quarter of that, just $4 million. The men’s tournament generates far more revenue than the women’s tournament.
The last time the U. S. men made the World Cup field, ahead of the 2014 event in Brazil, male players who were named to the roster received a $55,000 bonus, while the women received $15,000 each for making the roster in Canada, according to figures cited in past court documents.
