A November 20th episode of 60 Minutes featured the story of professional athletes who are notoriously underpaid, despite their success and popularity. These women are working toward breaking one of the most challenging of barriers; equal pay for equal work.
Carli Lloyd is considered the best female soccer player in the world and captains the U.S. team.
“For the 2015 Final, an estimated 30 million people watched on TV in the U.S. as Carli Lloyd’s three goals sealed a huge win against Japan. It was and remains the highest rated soccer match in American history including games played by the U.S. men.” To get an idea of the financial disparity, according to the 60 Minutes’ story:
“Globally men’s soccer is undeniably more popular and profitable than the women’s game. When Germany won the World Cup in 2014, FIFA, the sports international governing body, awarded them $35 million. A year later, when the U.S. women won the cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation received $2 million.”
Now the players on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team are going up against the U.S. Soccer Federation over wages, and about the treatment they believe does not measure up to that of their male counterparts.
Perhaps one of the biggest fights of their pro career, but one to which they are just as dedicated.
