What the World Cup Reminds Us About Pay Equality
by Ashley Lidow on Jul 15, 2019
Whether you were glued to the TV screaming GOOOAAALLLLLLL or just heard the news about the women’s soccer team, we can all agree that Sunday was a great day for sports in the United States. The US Women’s National Soccer Team won the World Cup, securing their fourth world championship and breaking their own record for the most wins in the tournament’s history.
Their victory also reminded the world of the upcoming legal battle with the US Soccer Federation on claims that female athletes are being paid as low as 38 percent of what male athletes are earning, despite generating more revenue for the league than the men’s team.
This isn’t the first time that women in sports have helped to raise awareness about pay inequality; you may recall Aja Wilson speaking at the 2019 WREN Summit on the issue or our previous blogs on the glaring pay gaps in women’s basketball including SC’s own Dawn Staley deserving fair compensation.
WREN prioritizes pay equity in our work to increase opportunity and prosperity for women and their families in South Carolina. South Carolina has a larger wage gap than the national average with African American women, on average, earn 53 cents compared to a white man’s dollar. White women earn 74 cents.
The World Cup was a good reminder to us all that we need to commit to addressing pay inequalities and take action. Now is not the time for sitting on the bench. We need you to get in the game:
- Talk to your local elected officials about the Act to Establish Pay Equity which will ensure that employee pay is based on factors such as skill, effort, and responsibility. Ultimately, this bill will ban the use of salary history and provide pay transparency without retaliation.
- Take action in your workplace.
- According to experts, open and honest discussions about wages can be a powerful tool to combat workplace inequality. However, while it is unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act for private sector employers to prohibit their employees from discussing salaries, there are exceptions for some occupations. Find out what policies exist at your workplace and begin your advocacy in your own company or industry if these policies do not reflect your needs and beliefs.
- Make a DifferWRENce and join our team!
- Every donation you make to WREN is an investment in work toward improved policies, education for advocates and communities and real change for women, girls and families in South Carolina. An essential component to WREN’s game plan is you, individuals, ready to Make a DifferWRENce. When you make an investment now, we can continue working toward change — and we aren’t letting up.