US women's national soccer team wins battle for equal pay

From now on, female players in the US Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) will receive the same salary as their male counterparts. The important result came after years of endless discussions aimed at trying to break down the gender pay gap. The key was a class action lawsuit filed in March 2019 by twenty-eight female players from the USWNT against the discriminatory policy of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). The accusations, which alleged different treatment compared to men in all kinds of areas, from health care to training facilities, were upheld in the appeal, forcing the Federation to make an indirect admission of discrimination perpetrated for years. The athletes will get a total of $24 million in damages and a commitment from Us Soccer to "providing an equal rate of pay going ... Teams in all friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup".

The first to express her joy is Megan Rapinoe, the footballer and champion of the rights of the LGBTQI+ community and women, who calls the news day "really fantastic":

"I think we are going to look back on this day and say this is the moment that U.S. Soccer changed for the better. There will never be that kind of disparity again and we can move forward in making football the best sport it can be in this country. It's a victory for the younger generation."

President Biden also celebrated the equal pay with a tweet:

"This is a long overdue victory in the fight for equal pay. I’m proud of the USWNT for never giving up — on and off the field. Now, let’s close the pay gap in every industry."

A similar achievement was recently achieved by the women footballers of the Norway national team, but there is still a long way to go to break down the gender pay gap in sport (and beyond). The new US measure is also a partial victory, because it only concerns the salaries of female players on the national team, but not for clubs that, being private, are subject to different rules.