To the soccer field now, where five stars from the Women's National Team have filed a claim against the U.S. Soccer Federation, for wage discrimination. In the filing, the five players say they're paid nearly four times less than their male counterparts on the U.S. Men's National Team. That’s according to a 2015 financial report. The motion was submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which investigates claims based on discrimination.
The Women's National Team won the World Cup last year in Canada, and have already qualified for the summer Olympics in Brazil.
According to the filing, the women's team generated $20 million more in revenue than the men's team did last year. But U.S. soccer officials are pushing back against those claims. One example in the complaint shows the difference in pay structure for advancement through the rounds of the World Cup. The claim says that in 2015, the women's team earned $2 million for winning the World Cup while the men made $9 million without advancing beyond the round of 16 in 2014.
In addition, the complaint says that bonuses for placing first, second or third in competitions...are much higher for men.
Now, we want to hear where you stand. The women's team has demonstrated great success on the field, bringing home a World Cup. They currently sit atop the FIFA world soccer rankings, while the men's team is ranked 29th.
So we want to know, if you could increase the women's soccer pay, would you make it to be equal to the men, or do you believe it should be more than the men's, to reflect the success on the field? After voting, write in and explain your reasoning. Be sure to show support for your argument.
Instructional Links
Online Reference Materials: INFOhio, Points of View Reference Center, Raising the Minimum Wage
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Chart: U. S. Department of Labor, Minimum Wage
http://www.dol.gov/featured/minimum-wage/chart1
Website Article: Newsela, California About to Bump Minimum Wage to $15 Per Hour
https://newsela.com/articles/cali-minwage/id/16152/
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Website: U S. Women's National Soccer Team