Cheers and celebration followed the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team when they defeated Japan on Sunday, July 5, 2015, to win the Women's World Cup. The U.S. team resoundingly dominated defending reigning champion Japan 5-2 for their first Women's World Cup title since 1999. Not only are these women World Cup Champions, they made history in the highest scoring final in tournament history.
How much is a Women’s World Cup Championship worth?
Judging by FIFA's (the international governing body that runs the tournament) record, a lot less than unsuccessful men’s teams.
According to Think Progress: The prize awarded to the women’s team is $2 million—not too shabby. But here is the kicker: that prize “pales in comparison” with the awards of their male counterparts. Showing up and playing in the tournament earns men’s teams $1.5 million and first round losers are awarded $8 million—4 times the amount of the Women's World Cup Champions.
Lest the women should fret and whine about this glaringly unequal disparity in winnings,
FIFA is awarding the U.S. women's team twice as much as was awarded Japan’s women’s soccer team when they won in 2011.
Progress? Not so much considering the 2014 men's World Cup winners--Germany--won a whopping $35 million! Add to that the misogynistic attitude of FIFA's secretary general who called equal pay for women "nonsense" and said that "we are still another 23 World Cups before potentially women should receive the same amount as men," and there is no doubt World Cup Soccer sees no flaw in their sexist system and has no immediate plans to change. When we do the math it means 92 more years of pay discrimination. UNACCEPTABLE!
Sign the Ultra Violet petition: "Tell the FIFA Executive Committee: Pay women players fairly"
Although the obvious wage discrimination and unapologetic, sexist business practices demonstrated by FIFA are unjust and beyond outrageous, we are not surprised. Even in the United States—the supposed beacon of democracy and exceptionalism--
equal pay for equal work does not exist for women because the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has not yet been ratified into the Constitution despite nearly a century of struggle. The ERA was first introduced in 1923, 92 years ago-- ironically, the same amount of time FIFA would have women soccer players wait for equal pay.
Now that's a REAL KICKER!