Plainfield
“I think it’s unreasonable that the women aren’t getting equal pay,” said Pepper Joseph, who plays for the Lightning Under 13 Breakers soccer team, a premier youth club that practices at Kimball Union Academy.
“The way that they’ve been playing this last year has been really impressive and I think they’re great role models,” she said of the U.S. women’s national soccer team.
The U.S. women’s team made headlines last week when five players filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing the U.S. Soccer Federation of wage discrimination. The players argue they make nearly four times less than male players, while the federation contends the women’s salary structure is determined through a collective bargaining agreement, unlike the men’s pay-for-play model.
But Joseph, her teammates and some Breakers parents said the women’s team has played better than the men’s team and deserves better compensation for their hard work.
“The fact that they’ve stepped up and asked for equal pay is really important,” Joseph said, adding that it’s no longer the 19th century and no longer acceptable to treat women unfairly.
Under the collective bargaining agreement, the women’s national team has the potential to earn $99,000 by winning 20 matches a year, according to The Associated Press. Men earn a minimum of $100,000 for appearing in 20 games and can make as much as $263,320.
The only thing that the women receive that men don’t is benefits, such as health care, through the U.S. Olympic Committee, according to the AP.
The women’s team also has more proven results, taking home a total of three World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals, while the men haven’t won either. That’s a fact that resonates with Breakers player Ellie Stannard.
“The men get to wear three stars on their uniform and the women have earned all of them,” she said. “They’ve started with less and now they’ve outplayed the men.”
But just because the women’s team competes in more World Cup finals doesn’t mean they match the men’s earnings in the international competition. The AP reports the women’s team was awarded $2 million for last year’s win against Japan, about $7 million less than the men who were knocked out in an earlier round the year before.
Women are also paid about $38,000 less for making the World Cup team, and don’t share the $2.5 million bonus that the men’s team received.
“I think that’s really important because they did better than the men did and they still got paid less,” Breakers player Ella Mclean said. “They should get paid the same as the men, but also more if they win the World Cup.”
Because of their success, Mclean said, the women’s team has also garnered more name recognition and support from soccer fans. Although the names of female soccer stars came easily to Mclean and her teammates, they could only name former captain Clint Dempsey on the men’s team.
“I think it’s completely fair (to pay women equally) because the (Women’s) World Cup final was the most watched U.S. game in history,” said Audrey Park, another Breakers player. “It just makes sense for them to get equal pay.”
While the women’s team averages fewer attendees (about 13,000 less per match), last year’s Women’s World Cup final was watched by 26.7 million viewers, the AP reported, making it the most watched soccer game in the history of American television.
“It just makes sense for them to get equal pay,” Park said. “That should go on to any woman’s job. Every woman should be getting paid equally.”
Breakers coach Deanna Denault said the women’s team has been gaining recognition on several levels for years, and equal pay for female athletes is something everyone should be able to agree on. She attended the World Cup final in Canada and said the atmosphere was supportive of the women’s team, not only for nationalistic reasons but also for their accomplishments as athletes.
Breakers parents also welcomed equal pay for female players and encouraged their children to probe the social effects of wage discrimination.
Lyme resident Alex Grossman said her daughter follows the women’s team closely and was shocked to hear that pay inequality still exists.
“I think it’s been interesting for them to see because I think they grow up assuming and feeling confident they have all the opportunities that anyone would,” she said. “To see that this is something that women have been fighting for for a long time is really eye opening for them.”
Parent David McGough said it’s good to see the women’s team use their position and clout to draw attention to an important social issue.
“I think it’s great for these young women to see mentors in their field expand their role beyond that of athletic role models into role models for social justice,” he said.
For Joseph, the women who play at an international level are inspiring role models.
“I think that it would be so cool to have an experience like that and have 20 women, and they’re like your best friends and you’re just playing the sport of your life,” she said.
But just because it’s a wonderful experience doesn’t mean those women don’t deserve more, Joseph said.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.