Women’s World Cup Championship Drives Conversation About Pay Equity

On July 7th the United States women’s soccer team
won their fourth FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Now the reigning champs are seeking equal pay for their
achievements.  Compared to the men’s 2018
World Cup prize pool of $400 million, the women earned a total of $30 million
in prize money for this year’s tournament.
According to the Wall Street Journal there has been a change in the
revenue garnered by each team with the women’s 2019 Nike jersey becoming the
top selling soccer jersey by a significant margin.  Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA has
stated that the women’s prize money will double by the next World Cup in 2023,
however U.S. captain Megan Rapinoe claims that is not enough.  She is quoted saying “we should double it now
and use that number to double or quadruple it for the next time.”

In March members of the Women’s National Team filed a
lawsuit claiming gender discrimination and demanding equal pay.  Molly Levinson, a spokeswomen for the team in
their lawsuit has said that “these athletes generate more revenue and garner
higher TV ratings but get paid less simply because they are women.”  Both the players and the U.S. Soccer
Federation have agreed to mediation, which should start soon after the
tournaments conclusion.  Already over 50
members of Congress have joined in a letter asking the Soccer Federation to
justify the differences in pay as well as working conditions for the men and
women teams.  Many believe that decisions
should be made to close the wage gap and allow the athletes to focus on winning
alone.  Right now the message that is
being sent to women and girls is that their skills and accomplishments are of
lesser value than the men’s.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women on
average make 82 cents for every dollar men make.  Although the gap has narrowed in recent
years, it has proven very difficult to close.
Critics will say that this statistic does not distinguish between people
in different jobs with varying levels of experience, but advocates say it is an
important measure of how women are faring in the workplace.  In 1963 a federal law was passed to prohibit
gender-based pay discrimination, but disparities between men and women are
still visible today.  About 60% of U.S.
organizations are currently working to resolve the pay inequalities based on
gender, race, or other demographic factors.

Have you taken a look at your pay compensation
recently?  How do you pay men compared to
the women at your company?  Make sure you
are not behind the times, Converge can do a compensation analysis to help
determine what your employees should be fairly paid.  If this sounds like something we can help you
with you can reach us at (610) 296-8550 or info@convergehrsolutions.com.  

Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/2NIDXQo

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