U.S. Women Soccer Champs Use Win to Push Phony Equal Pay Narrative

The U.S. Women’s Soccer team asserted their dominance by winning a second consecutive World Cup. However, using their accomplishment as a political platform to make fake claims about unfair, unequal pay undermines their credibility.

Liberal Democrats continue to try to divide everyday Americans by claiming massive pay inequality exists. That mostly false narrative enflames feelings of people who see their hard work as under-appreciated, and look at their financial struggles are unfair. It’s an age-old form of manipulation we know as “identity politics.”

Widely used by Democrats to pit Americans against each other in an effort to get votes, vocal U.S. Women’s Soccer team members have pressed the left’s agenda. But the facts about a gender-based wage gap simply doesn’t exist when comparing similar work and pay.

The sexism argument fails to compare apples to apples, and even research will only routinely look at top wage numbers. For instance, if a man and woman do basically the same job, only annual salaries are compared. But it’s commonly the case that men work longer hours while mothers care for sick children and take time off during school vacations. The facts are that men and women earn roughly the same amount per work-hour, but mothers handle more important family challenges. In terms of sports salaries, the women’s World Cup has lagged far behind that payout of the men’s. But is that difference unfair?

According to reports, soccer’s governing organization, FIFA, pays the women’s World Cup championship team approximately $4 million. That equates to each team member garnering about $110,000. Last year, the French men’s championship team earned $38 million by contrast. Because of this perceived wage disparity, the U.S. women’s team filed a lawsuit claiming gender discrimination.

The litigation reflects the same type of argument the WNBA makes about being paid far less than male NBA stars. Although their male counterparts are supportive of equal pay in interviews, the reality is that the WNBA simple does not generate the high-level revenue needed to justify massive contracts. Although vocal liberals on the women’s championship team have taken shots at President Donald Trump, he complimented their accomplishment and called for increased transparency in World Cup soccer.

“To do that you also have to look at numbers because when you look at World Cup soccer, that’s one thing…you have to see who’s taking in what, so I don’t know what those numbers are, I would like to see that, but again, you have to look at the great stars of the men’s soccer, the great stars of the women’s soccer, and you have to see year-round how are they all drawing…I would like to see it,” Trump stated.

On the one hand, the U.S. women’s team has at least a claim that they should be paid more than the men’s team. From 2016-2018, the women outpaced the men $50.8 million to $49.9 million, according to reports. It’s important to keep in mind that the women’s team is on a historic winning streak that earned them four World Cup championships. The U.S. men’s team is considered a mid-level unit at best. And until the recent unseemly display by the women’s team, vigorous efforts were underway to raise their pay.

“The event revenue from the USWNT demonstrates the potential that can be realized when investment is made,” executive director of the U.S. national team’s players association Becca Roux reportedly said. “While there is still a long way to go, I applaud U.S. Soccer, their partners, and our partners for the new marketing initiatives over the past couple of years. I hope it serves as a case study and example for other federations around the world to emulate.”

The recent dropping of the American flag and controversies that offended other organizations could prove to be a setback. The other issue is that comparing U.S. men’s earnings to the haul by the French World Cup champions is not apples to apples. Ratings for the men’s World Cup tournament and championship game far exceed that of the women. Corporate sponsors also infuse far more revenue into the more popular men’s competition.

Although the U.S. women’s team delivered 14 million American viewers, more than 3.5 billion people watched the 2018 men’s World Cup, and 1.12 billion tuned in to view the championship match. The U.S. women certainly outperform the American men in terms of revenue, but even a cursory look at the men’s World Cup ratings shows a massive revenue-generating ratings disparity exists. The equal pay narrative in that context is obviously phony.


Most Popular

These content links are provided by Content.ad. Both Content.ad and the web site upon which the links are displayed may receive compensation when readers click on these links. Some of the content you are redirected to may be sponsored content. View our privacy policy here.

To learn how you can use Content.ad to drive visitors to your content or add this service to your site, please contact us at [email protected].

Family-Friendly Content

Website owners select the type of content that appears in our units. However, if you would like to ensure that Content.ad always displays family-friendly content on this device, regardless of what site you are on, check the option below. Learn More



Most Popular
Sponsored Content

These content links are provided by Content.ad. Both Content.ad and the web site upon which the links are displayed may receive compensation when readers click on these links. Some of the content you are redirected to may be sponsored content. View our privacy policy here.

To learn how you can use Content.ad to drive visitors to your content or add this service to your site, please contact us at [email protected].

Family-Friendly Content

Website owners select the type of content that appears in our units. However, if you would like to ensure that Content.ad always displays family-friendly content on this device, regardless of what site you are on, check the option below. Learn More