The Next Step in the Fight for Equal Pay

By | 2018-08-30T19:00:52+00:00 28 August 2018|Blog, News|2 Comments

It’s been more than two years since I and four of my teammates from the 2015 Women’s World Cup Championship Team filed a wage discrimination claim against U.S. Soccer with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

It was a historic filing and drew widespread attention to the massive disparities between the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams in pay, working conditions and treatment by our Federation. We had tremendous support from the public, members of the media, prominent U.S. Senators, members of Congress, and even President Obama.

The EEOC informed us in December 2016 that, as a result of their investigation, they were close to issuing a finding that the USSF violated the Equal Pay Act. We felt we were on the brink of a landmark ruling that would not only impact female athletes, but women all across America who are still earning substantially less than men.

Since then, however, the EEOC has taken no meaningful action.

I can no longer continue to put my faith in this process or believe the EEOC will make a significant ruling in this case. That is why I made the decision to exercise my individual right to file suit against the Federation in federal court.

Equal pay is our fundamental right and U.S. Soccer could have been the world leader in paying its men and women’s teams equally. Instead, that honor goes to Iceland and Norway, while we continue to have to fight at every turn. It’s time to let the courts decide these issues of equality.

We as leaders in the soccer world and we as a nation must take action. We cannot be quiet. We must not accept the status quo. We must not agree to less than equal CBA’s or salaries. History has shown that our rights must be fought for. I will continue to fight for our youth of America, and I will continue to believe that they will have a better and more equal world then we have now.

2 Comments

  1. Emily August 29, 2018 at 5:37 pm - Reply

    Thank you for fighting. As a woman in tech, this brought tears to my eyes. I support you and I have your back, as I fight in my own ways. I wish you and the team all the strength and stamina in the world.

  2. Jan Söderman August 30, 2018 at 10:49 am - Reply

    Keep up the great job you doing

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