The US Soccer Federation (USSF) has been sued by the Senior Women's National Soccer Team (WNT) over allegations of gender discrimination including unequal pay and unequal working conditions, a document filed in a California district court revealed
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th March, 2019) The US Soccer Federation (USSF) has been sued by the Senior Women's National Soccer Team (WNT) over allegations of gender discrimination including unequal pay and unequal working conditions, a document filed in a California district court revealed.
"The USSF admits to... purposeful gender discrimination even during times when the WNT earned more profit, played more games, won more games, earned more championships, and/or garnered higher television audiences," the document said on Friday. "This action seeks an end to the USSF's discriminatory practices, and an award to make plaintiffs and the class whole, as well as to provide for liquidated and punitive damages and all other appropriate relief."
The plaintiffs alleged that under the pay structure in effect from 2001 through the end of 2018 the USSF exhibited a policy of discriminating against female players on the basis of gender by paying them less than "similarly situated" counterparts on the Senior Men's National Soccer Team (MNT).
"A comparison of the WNT and MNT pay shows that if each team played 20 friendlies in a year and each team won all twenty friendlies, female WNT players would earn a maximum of $99,000 or $4,950 per game, while similarly situated male MNT players would earn an average of $263,320 or $13,166 per game against the various levels of competition they would face," the document said. "A 20-game winning top tier WNT player would earn only 38% of the compensation of a similarly situated MNT player."
The women's team success on the field has translated into substantial revenue generation and profits for the USSF, according to the filing. However, a USSF official admitted that the federation has and will continue to have a practice of gender-based pay discrimination despite conceding that WNT outperformed the men in both revenue and profit.
"[In 2016] the USSF budgeted a combined net loss for the national teams of $429,929. But thanks largely to the success of the female players on the WNT, the USSF revised its projections upward to include a $17.7 million profit," the complaint said. "The net profit for the WNT outstripped net profit for the MNT because the female players on the WNT were more successful in competition than the male players on the MNT - while being paid substantially less."
The USSF's policies of intentional gender discrimination, the plaintiffs argued, also applies to working conditions related to playing, training and travel in addition to game promotion.
The court filing alleged that USSF through its policies willfully violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
