The United States Women’s Soccer Team has not yet let up on their quest for equal pay on the national scale, and rightfully so.
Joe Biden recently brought attention to the team when signing a proclamation for equal payday- a day in which demonstrates just how much longer a woman would have to work into the next working year in order to be equal to what a male counterpart would have earned in the previous working year.
This is something Biden hopes will help end the unjust pay gap in which women earn 82 cents to a male colleague’s dollar, which is even less for women of color- Black women making 63 cents to the dollar, and Latina women 55.
By inviting the United States Women’s Soccer Team to this event, Biden draws attention to a two-year-old lawsuit the Women’s team has brought to the forefront of American minds.
The background of this case is supremely telling: both in wins and in salary. The women’s team has amassed four world cup championships, where the men have failed to secure even one. The pay gap is also telling- if the women’s team wins 20 matches in a season, they would earn about $99,000. This seems like a large amount of money until it is compared to the men who would earn $263,320 for the same feat.
This is just under forty percent of the male team’s earnings- even with insurmountable success. For multiple-time worldly, national champions, this is beyond unfair and incredibly embarrassing.
This lawsuit brings back the fight that the women’s soccer team has never forgotten, that women everywhere have never been able to forget. The pay gap still exists, it will always exist and it disproportionately affects our fellow women of color.
It is tragically unfair that this fight even has to be fought anymore, but that is not an indication we should give up. Joe Biden’s efforts to demonstrate support are a step in the right direction, but we must continue to stand with our female friends, coworkers, and allies in order to fight for proper pay for women across the country.