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Published -
- August 6, 2019
- 2:01 am
After winning two Women’s World Cups, Jill Ellis is stepping down as coach of the USWNT.
Her departure comes amid a pay dispute between the players & U.S. Soccer, whose president published a letter saying the women’s team makes more, not less, than the USMNT.
What benefits did the USSF offer the women’s national soccer team in their new collective bargaining agreement?
In March 2019, the United States men’s national soccer team accused the U.S Soccer Federation (USSF) of “institutionalized gender discrimination,” and demanded equal pay as the women’s national soccer team. The women’s team, at the time, had won four World Cup titles, four Olympic gold medals, and were consistently ranked number one in the world. The men’s team, on the other hand, had failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and had never progressed beyond the quarterfinals of the tournament in their history. Despite these differences, the men’s team was being paid significantly more than the women’s team.
However, in May 2020, the USSF and the women’s national team reached a new collective bargaining agreement, which included higher salaries and improved working conditions, making them one of the best-paid women’s soccer teams in the world. The agreement made sure that the women’s team would receive the same base pay structure as the men’s team. It also meant that the women’s team would receive benefits such as maternity leave, injury protections, and increased bonuses for winning games.
This agreement fell well with the findings of a federal judge who ruled in March 2019 that the women’s national team had been paid less than the men’s team, for the same level of work. This ruling paved the way for further negotiations and demonstrated that the American women’s soccer players were undervalued compared to their male counterparts.
It is worth noting that the argument that the men’s national team generates more revenue than the women’s team does not hold any water. The United States women’s national team has generated more revenue and generated more considerable television viewership than the men’s team in recent years. The women’s national team has also won more major championships than the men’s team, leading to increased ticket sales and merchandise revenue.
In conclusion, the United States Soccer Federation has taken significant steps to close the pay gap between the men’s and women’s national soccer teams, with the women’s team now receiving the same base pay structure as the men’s team, among other benefits. The move is essential in promoting gender equality in sports and in society in general. It also highlights the need for sports organizations worldwide to address gender discrimination and pay inequality issues, especially in the women sports department.
