Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. IFRAME: [1]https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-N8MP7P [2]Skip to main content (Submit) Open main navigation [3]Watch [4]Listen * [5]United States [6]US Politics + [7]Immigration + [8]All About America + [9]Science & Health + [10]Silicon Valley & Technology * World [11]Africa + [12]The Americas + [13]East Asia + [14]Europe + [15]Extremism Watch + [16]Middle East + [17]South & Central Asia + [18]VOA News on Iran * Sections [19]Arts & Culture + [20]Day in Photos + [21]Economy & Business + [22]Press Freedom + [23]Plugged in with Greta Van Susteren + [24]VOA StudentU + [25]VOA Connect * [26]US News * [27]Press Freedom * [28]Silicon Valley & Technology * [29]VOA StudentU [30]Voice of America Logo (Submit) Search Search VOA News ____________________ (Submit) Search (Submit) Eng [31]Watch [32]Listen English [33]English [34]voanews.com [35]Learning English [36]learningenglish.voanews.com Eastern & Central Europe [37]Shqip [38]zeriamerikes.com [39]Bosanski [40]ba.voanews.com [41]Îλληνικά [42]gr.voanews.com [43]ÐакедонÑки [44]mk.voanews.com [45]Srpski [46]glasamerike.net [47]УкÑаÑнÑÑка [48]ukrainian.voanews.com Eurasia [49]ÕÕ¡ÕµÕ¥ÖÕ¥Õ¶ [50]amerikayidzayn.com [51]Azerbaijani [52]amerikaninsesi.org [53]á¥áá áá£áá [54]amerikiskhma.com [55]Ð ÑÑÑкий [56]golos-ameriki.ru Central Asia [57]O'zbek' [58]amerikaovozi.com South Asia [59]বাà¦à¦²à¦¾ [60]voabangla.com [61]Ø¯Ø±Û [62]darivoa.com [63]Ù¾Úت٠[64]pashtovoa.com [65]ÙÛ Ø§Ù Ø§Û ÚÙÙ٠رÙÚÛÙ [66]voadeewanews.com [67]ارد [68]urduvoa.com East & Southeast Asia [69]á»ááá¹áᬠ[70]burmese.voanews.com [71]ç²¤è¯ [72]voacantonese.com [73]ä¸æ [74]voachinese.com [75]Bahasa Indonesia [76]voaindonesia.com [77]ááááá [78]khmer.voanews.com [79]Khmer [80]voacambodia.com [81]íêµì´ [82]voakorea.com [83]ລາວ [84]lao.voanews.com [85]à¹à¸à¸¢ [86]voathai.com [87]à½à½¼à½à¼à½¡à½²à½ [88]voatibetan.com [89]Tiếng Viá»t [90]voatiengviet.com Africa [91]Afaan Oromoo [92]voaafaanoromoo.com [93]á ááá [94]amharic.voanews.com [95]Bambara [96]voabambara.com [97]Français [98]voaafrique.com [99]Hausa [100]voahausa.com [101]Kinyarwanda / Kirundi [102]radiyoyacuvoa.com [103]Ndebele [104]voandebele.com [105]Português [106]voaportugues.com [107]Shona [108]voashona.com [109]Soomaaliga [110]voasomali.com [111]Kiswahili [112]voaswahili.com [113]áµááá [114]tigrigna.voanews.com [115]Zimbabwe [116]voazimbabwe.com Middle East/North Africa [117]ÙØ§Ø±Ø³Û [118]ir.voanews.com [119]ÙÙØ±Ø¯Û [120]dengiamerika.com [121]Kurdi [122]dengeamerika.com [123]Türkçe [124]amerikaninsesi.com Latin America [125]Creole [126]voanouvel.com [127]Español [128]voanoticias.com [129]All About America How US Women's Soccer Is Used to Prop Up the Men By Dora Mekouar July 10, 2019 04:26 PM Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Comments From its earliest days, women's soccer didn't get much respect from sport organizers. Take the first World Cup in 1991, which wasn't even called the "Women's World Cup." Sponsored by Mars Inc., the candy empire, the event was branded the "1st FIFA World Championship for Women's Football for the M&Ms Cup." "They weren't paid. They got $10 per diem a day. They were wearing hand-me-down uniforms. They weren't staying in the best hotel rooms," says Eileen Narcotta-Welp, an assistant professor of sport management at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. "They were literally eating Snickers and Pepsi to kind of fuel them through the 1991 game." The U.S. women won that tournament. Brandi Chastain exposes her Nike sports bra as she celebrates her game-winning shootout kick for the U.S. team against China during the Women's World Cup Final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., July 10, 1999. FILE -- Brandi Chastain celebrates her game-winning shootout kick for the U.S. team against China during the Women's World Cup Final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., July 10, 1999. Today, female soccer players get paid, but not enough, according to a lawsuit the U.S. women's national soccer team (USWNT) filed against U.S. Soccer, their employer, alleging, "institutionalized gender discrimination." The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), also commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. The lawsuit alleges that female players each earn a maximum of $99,000 for a season, while the men make an average of $263,320. In the 28 years since that first World Cup win, the U.S. women's team has been wildly successful, taking home four Women's World Cups in all, including the 2019 title captured on Sunday in a 2-0 victory over The Netherlands, four Olympic gold medals, and eight CONCACAF Gold Cups. The U.S. men haven't fared as well, failing even to qualify for the most recent men's World Cup in 2018. In fact, throughout the tournament's 89-year history, the U.S. men have never earned a World Cup. FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2017, file photo, United States' Christian Pulisic, (10) is comforted by assistant coach Dave Sarachan after losing 2-1 against Trinidad and Tobago during a 2018 World Cup qualifying soccer match in Couva, Trinidad. FILE -- In this Oct. 10, 2017, photo, U.S. player Christian Pulisic, (10) is comforted by assistant coach Dave Sarachan after losing 2-1 against Trinidad and Tobago during a 2018 World Cup qualifying soccer match in Couva, Trinidad. And yet, despite a lackluster record, the U.S. men are paid significantly more than the women. For example, there was a $730,000 gender pay gap in 2019 U.S. World Cup bonuses, according to [130]The Guardian. The world champion women's team members -- who were honored Wednesday in a ticker-tape parade in New York City -- will earn a maximum of $260,869 each after winning the World Cup and going on a victory tour. But if the U.S. men had accomplished the same feat, each of them would have earned more than $1.1 million. Each member of the U.S. women's national team earned $90,000 in bonuses for reaching the quarterfinals. But if they'd been eligible for the same bonuses as the U.S. men, they'd have raked in $550,000. Total prize money for all teams involved in the 2018 men's World Cup added up to $400 million, while the women's prize money total for 2019 is $30 million. United States' Megan Rapinoe scores the opening goal from a penalty shot during the Women's World Cup final soccer match on July 7, 2019. United States' Megan Rapinoe scores the opening goal from a penalty shot during the Women's World Cup final soccer match on July 7, 2019. In a court filing in response to the lawsuit, U.S. Soccer argued that the difference in pay between the men and women players is "based on differences in aggregate revenue generated by the different teams and/or any other factor other than sex." The compensation issue was on the minds of fans in the crowd at Wednesday's parade salute to the women's championship team. "They're doing the same hustle," says Jaida Brown, a spectator. "They're out there in the media and they're inspiring people, and that's what I feel like it's all about, so they definitely should get equal pay as a man." "The whole team has been very powerful, and it's just really empowered me," says Yvonne Duck, another who turned out for the parade. "As a woman, I really feel strongly that they should be paid equally. It's so unfair." David Gibbs attended the parade with his two daughters, including a 9-year-old who plays soccer. He coaches her team, in addition to coaching in the recreational soccer league he plays in. "The whole issue of them getting equal pay is something that they do in the workplace," Gibbs says. "Why not in the sports arena, as well?" Since winning the World Cup in 2015, the U.S. women's soccer games have earned more revenue than the men, according to [131]The Wall Street Journal, which reported that the women generated $50.8 million in revenue between 2016 and 2018, while the men brought in $49.9 million. United States' Megan Rapinoe, center, celebrates team's victory with teammates after the Women's World Cup final soccer match between US and The Netherlands. United States' Megan Rapinoe, center, celebrates team's victory with teammates after the Women's World Cup final soccer match between US and The Netherlands. The women's earning power also extends to merchandise. Nike says the U.S. women's soccer jersey is the top-selling soccer jersey, men's or women's, ever to be sold on Nike.com in one season. Not only are the women paid less, but U.S. Soccer has used their success to try to jump-start interest in men's soccer. In 1989, in the run-up to the Women's World Cup, U.S. Soccer scheduled men's games right before the women's matches in combination hopes of drawing more attention to the men. "They did this kind of combination package to get people to watch the men's game because they knew that people were going to come and watch the women," says Narcotta-Welp. "I think that the USSF has consistently used the women as a way to propel the men's team into visibility -- financial visibility, spectatorship visibility," she says. But no matter how well the U.S. women perform for the masculine-oriented FIFA, soccer's world governing body, it's all still about the men's game. According to Narcotta-Welp, FIFA won't take U.S. Soccer seriously until it fields a formidable men's team that can compete on the international stage. "You don't see FIFA pressuring other federations to invest more in the women's soccer game," she says. "They probably look at the United States and say, 'Well, you're riding high. You're tough. You don't need to do as much because your women's game is already there.'" After the U.S. women secured their second consecutive World Cup victory in Lyon, France, last Sunday, fans in the grandstands chanted, "Equal pay, equal pay." The U.S. women's team filed their lawsuit against U.S. Soccer in March, but agreed to focus on the World Cup first and then begin mediation on the issue of equal pay after the conclusion of the tournament. For Narcotta-Welp, the general solution is simple, especially considering what the U.S. women's soccer team has done for the sport. "The women's team in all of its iterations, literally has brought the game of soccer not only into conversations within American households, but this team is also the first to successfully market and sell soccer to a naive and seemingly indifferent American sports market," she says. "At this moment, they are cultural icons and should be paid as such." Default Author Profile Written By [132]Dora Mekouar (Submit) (Submit) (Submit) (Submit) (Submit) (Submit) [133]Twitter [134]Instagram [135]Facebook [136]YouTube [137]RSS Search VOA News ____________________ (Submit) Search * [138]United States [139]US Politics + [140]Immigration + [141]All About America + [142]Silicon Valley and Technology * World News [143]Africa + [144]The Americas + [145]East Asia + [146]Europe + [147]Middle East + [148]South & Central Asia * Sections [149]Arts & Culture + [150]Day in Photos + [151]Economy & Business + [152]Extremism Watch + [153]Press Freedom + [154]Science & Health + [155]VOA StudentU + [156]VOA Connect * Voice of America [157]About VOA + [158]Contact VOA + [159]Terms of Use and Privacy Notice + [160]Get Our Mobile App + [161]Usage Requests + [162]VOA Around the World + [163]VOA Pronunciation Guide + [164]Media Relations + [165]Listen on the radio + [166]Satellite Schedule + [167]Subscribe to Our Newsletters References Visible links 1. https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-N8MP7P 2. file://localhost/tmp/lynxXXXXjXadUa/L5439550-6536TMP.html#main-content 3. file://localhost/watch 4. file://localhost/listen 5. file://localhost/usa 6. file://localhost/usa/us-politics 7. file://localhost/usa/immigration 8. file://localhost/usa/all-about-america 9. file://localhost/science-health 10. file://localhost/silicon-valley-technology 11. file://localhost/africa 12. file://localhost/americas 13. file://localhost/east-asia 14. file://localhost/europe 15. file://localhost/extremism-watch 16. file://localhost/middle-east 17. file://localhost/south-central-asia 18. file://localhost/middle-east/voa-news-iran 19. file://localhost/arts-culture 20. file://localhost/day-photos 21. file://localhost/economy-business 22. file://localhost/press-freedom 23. file://localhost/plugged-greta-van-susteren 24. file://localhost/student-union 25. file://localhost/voa-connect 26. file://localhost/usa 27. file://localhost/press-freedom 28. file://localhost/silicon-valley-technology 29. file://localhost/student-union 30. file://localhost/ 31. file://localhost/watch 32. file://localhost/listen 33. https://voanews.com/ 34. https://voanews.com/ 35. https://learningenglish.voanews.com/ 36. https://learningenglish.voanews.com/ 37. https://zeriamerikes.com/ 38. https://zeriamerikes.com/ 39. https://ba.voanews.com/ 40. https://ba.voanews.com/ 41. https://gr.voanews.com/ 42. https://gr.voanews.com/ 43. https://mk.voanews.com/ 44. https://mk.voanews.com/ 45. https://glasamerike.net/ 46. https://glasamerike.net/ 47. https://ukrainian.voanews.com/ 48. https://ukrainian.voanews.com/ 49. https://amerikayidzayn.com/ 50. https://amerikayidzayn.com/ 51. https://amerikaninsesi.org/ 52. https://amerikaninsesi.org/ 53. https://amerikiskhma.com/ 54. https://amerikiskhma.com/ 55. https://golos-ameriki.ru/ 56. https://golos-ameriki.ru/ 57. https://amerikaovozi.com/ 58. https://amerikaovozi.com/ 59. https://voabangla.com/ 60. https://voabangla.com/ 61. https://darivoa.com/ 62. https://darivoa.com/ 63. https://pashtovoa.com/ 64. https://pashtovoa.com/ 65. https://voadeewanews.com/ 66. https://voadeewanews.com/ 67. https://urduvoa.com/ 68. https://urduvoa.com/ 69. https://burmese.voanews.com/ 70. https://burmese.voanews.com/ 71. https://voacantonese.com/ 72. https://voacantonese.com/ 73. https://voachinese.com/ 74. https://voachinese.com/ 75. https://voaindonesia.com/ 76. https://voaindonesia.com/ 77. https://khmer.voanews.com/ 78. https://khmer.voanews.com/ 79. https://voacambodia.com/ 80. https://voacambodia.com/ 81. https://voakorea.com/ 82. https://voakorea.com/ 83. https://lao.voanews.com/ 84. https://lao.voanews.com/ 85. https://voathai.com/ 86. https://voathai.com/ 87. https://voatibetan.com/ 88. https://voatibetan.com/ 89. https://voatiengviet.com/ 90. https://voatiengviet.com/ 91. https://voaafaanoromoo.com/ 92. https://voaafaanoromoo.com/ 93. https://amharic.voanews.com/ 94. https://amharic.voanews.com/ 95. https://voabambara.com/ 96. https://voabambara.com/ 97. https://voaafrique.com/ 98. https://voaafrique.com/ 99. https://voahausa.com/ 100. https://voahausa.com/ 101. https://radiyoyacuvoa.com/ 102. https://radiyoyacuvoa.com/ 103. https://voandebele.com/ 104. https://voandebele.com/ 105. https://voaportugues.com/ 106. https://voaportugues.com/ 107. https://voashona.com/ 108. https://voashona.com/ 109. https://voasomali.com/ 110. https://voasomali.com/ 111. https://voaswahili.com/ 112. https://voaswahili.com/ 113. https://tigrigna.voanews.com/ 114. https://tigrigna.voanews.com/ 115. https://voazimbabwe.com/ 116. https://voazimbabwe.com/ 117. https://ir.voanews.com/ 118. https://ir.voanews.com/ 119. https://dengiamerika.com/ 120. https://dengiamerika.com/ 121. https://dengeamerika.com/ 122. https://dengeamerika.com/ 123. https://amerikaninsesi.com/ 124. https://amerikaninsesi.com/ 125. https://voanouvel.com/ 126. https://voanouvel.com/ 127. https://voanoticias.com/ 128. https://voanoticias.com/ 129. file://localhost/usa/all-about-america 130. https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2019/jun/28/revealed-the-731003-gender-pay-gap-in-us-world-cup-bonuses 131. https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-womens-soccer-games-out-earned-mens-games-11560765600 132. file://localhost/author/dora-mekouar 133. https://twitter.com/voanews 134. https://www.instagram.com/voanews/ 135. https://www.facebook.com/voiceofamerica 136. https://www.youtube.com/user/VOAvideo 137. file://localhost/rssfeeds 138. file://localhost/usa 139. file://localhost/usa/us-politics 140. file://localhost/usa/immigration 141. file://localhost/usa/all-about-america 142. file://localhost/silicon-valley-technology 143. file://localhost/africa 144. file://localhost/americas 145. file://localhost/east-asia 146. file://localhost/europe 147. file://localhost/middle-east 148. file://localhost/south-central-asia 149. file://localhost/arts-culture 150. file://localhost/day-photos 151. file://localhost/economy-business 152. file://localhost/extremism-watch 153. file://localhost/press-freedom 154. file://localhost/science-health 155. file://localhost/student-union 156. file://localhost/voa-connect 157. https://www.insidevoa.com/p/5831.html 158. https://www.insidevoa.com/p/5621.html 159. https://www.voanews.com/terms-use-and-privacy-notice 160. file://localhost/voas-free-app-mobile-and-tablet-devices 161. http://www.insidevoa.com/p/5719.html 162. https://www.voanews.com/voa-around-world 163. http://pronounce.voanews.com/ 164. http://www.insidevoa.com/ 165. file://localhost/voa-broadcast-frequency-schedules 166. http://direct.voa24.news/english/portal/broadcast-schedule 167. file://localhost/subscribe Hidden links: 168. https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-07/AP_9907100219.jpg?itok=zdK3pJdU 169. https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-07/AP_19172627620243.jpg?itok=QUgZ-4ZP 170. https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-07/AP_19188622834082.jpg?itok=AMFzRmQW 171. https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-07/AP_19188657106399.jpg?itok=9GDGFsmm .