Emily Thomas

Visual Text

Equal pay has also been in question since the passage of Title IX. Many women’s teams

have been fighting for equal pay between men and women athletes (Figure 1) because of Title

IX. Women’s teams get paid a great deal less than men’s teams do., which is thought to be unfair

due to the fast that some women’s teams are better than men’s teams. Gross states competitions

between men and women in FIFA is different in the number of games played each year with

different qualifying criteria and prize money. As stated in “Women in Professional Sports”, “In

March 2019, the twenty-eight members of the US women’s national soccer team filed a gender

discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation.” The women’s team brings

in more revenue because they have been more successful, have more people watch their games

on the television and have a larger revenue. The women have won more World Cups and

Olympic gold medals than the men’s team. The Women’s have better crowds for their games

because they are more successful. However, the men still get paid more than the women for their

wins, and even their losses. Many said women get paid less because of the total revenues that

teams bring in during tournaments and leagues. They wanted to sue for $67 million against the

discrimination between genders, that was being declined because the U.S. Soccer Federation

used “gender stereotyping” when deciding who was getting paid more (Gajanan). The agreement

includes guaranteed annual salaries, medical and dental insurance, paid child-care assistance,

paid pregnancy and parental leave, severance benefits, and multiple bonuses; which is not given

to the men’s national team. The USWNT fight for equal pay continued during the 2019 FIFA

Women’s World Cup, when the U.S. women won the trophy. After the World Cup concluded,
 US House of Representatives proposed the Give Our Athletes Level Salaries (GOALS) Act,

resulting in equal pay between the men and women’s team. The USWNT have been fighting for

equal pay before the 2019 Women’s World Cup but they were successful in the fight after

winning.

Fig 1. USWNT player Carli Lloyd and Morgan Brian after a goal
in Philadelphia in August 2019 with the words “Equal Pay” in
the background. (Glass)

I added this visual because I believe that it is very powerful in the USWNT fight for

equality. The two players are running back to the mid-line after a goal with the words “Equal

Pay” behind them being held by (what look like) female fans. This was right after the Women’s

World Cup when the USWNT had won and they were playing in the She Believes Cup. The

women call their victory friendlies “She Believes Cup” because they want young female athletes

to know what they are capable of and what they can do/be if they put their minds to it.
 Works Cited

Glass, Alana. “Jeffrey Kessler On The USWNT And Their Fight For Equal Pay.” Forbes, Forbes

Magazine, 3 Oct. 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/alanaglass/2019/10/01/jeffrey-kessler-

uswnt-and-their-fight-for-equal-pay/#522b6fafd78b.