As you read this, members of the US Women’s National Soccer Team are parading down New York City’s “Canyon of Heroes,” a section of Broadway in Lower Manhattan where notable national figures—from astronauts to military heroes to other sports stars—have been celebrated with parades for more than 100 years.
This US women’s team has now won the World Cup four times, a performance as dominating as those from powerhouse multi-World Cup-winning men’s teams like Brazil and Italy.
But the pay that the US women will get for that win is only a quarter of what the US men would get if they had won a World Cup.
The US men have never won a World Cup. They’ve rarely come close. However, in per-game pay the women will still make less than half of what the men do ($4,950 versus $13,166).
It’s three Representatives who are members of the Congressional Soccer Caucus (Reps. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Madeleine Dean and Kathy Castor—and yes, that’s a thing) plus four other members (all vulnerable freshmen) who have signed a pledge supporting equal pay for this history-making team.
And they’re of course all champions for equal pay for the rest of us too.