The Unfair Pay Gap Between the U.S. Women's And Men's Soccer Teams

During our free time, we often enjoy indulging in fun activities. One activity that I, and many other people, enjoy includes watching sports events. Not only does it make us realize how sedentary we are, but we also witness the hard work and passion players put in. Just earlier this year, nearly 700 million people watched the 2018 FIFA World Cup final. It’s safe to say that people like watching sports. However, as viewers, we tend to be oblivious to the events going on inside the sports. A significant issue that surrounds many athletes is a major pay gap between women and men, even if one team may be better than another. Take for instance the women’s soccer team. Although they play much better than the men’s team, they, unfortunately, get paid significantly less. So, why is this such a major problem? Why should it be solved now?

If you watched the World Cup this past summer or if you have ever seen the U.S. National Men’s Soccer team, you probably saw (let’s be honest), nothing good. Why? Because these men failed to even qualify for the World Cup. While these men have worked hard to get to where they are today, when they play as a team, they are not as good as the women’s soccer team. The women’s team have won three world cup titles, as compared to the men’s team, who have never won even one. Despite this, the men’s team gets paid significantly more than the women’s team, as the women’s team only make about only 40% of what the men make. To put this into perspective, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team has a salary cap of just $265,000. On the other hand, the U.S. Men’s National Soccer team earn more than $3 million. That’s a big difference that definitely needs to be talked about and changed.

As viewers of sports, we often don’t have the ability to witness what goes on inside of sports and behind the kicks. These women on the U.S. National Soccer team have been putting up with this inequality for much too long. Unfortunately, it is not only the women’s soccer team who puts up with this inequality -- players in other sports including Serena and Venus Williams get paid significantly less when compared to their male counterparts. For all the hard work and passion these ladies put in, they deserve to be paid much more than they get. Not only should this problem be discussed, but it should be solved now.