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A group of Democratic female members of Congress on Thursday introduced a bill that would that would guarantee equal pay between U.S. national team athletes and personnel regardless of gender.The “Even Playing Field Act” was introduced by Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Patty Murray (Wash.) along with Reps. Jackie Speier (Calif.), Brenda Lawrence (Mich.), Lois Frankel (Fla.), Veronica Escobar (Texas) and Sylvia Garcia (Texas).
In the House the bill is being co-sponsored by over 20 Democratic representatives.
“Next month, the U.S. women’s national teams will take the stage at the Summer Olympics, ready to bring home the gold,” Feinstein said in the announcement. “Unfortunately, despite numerous and repeated successes on the field, they continue to receive less financial support than their male counterparts. It’s time to even the playing field and ensure men and women’s national teams receive equal pay and resources within their respective sports.”
U.S. women’s national soccer team member Megan Rapinoe has become an outspoken advocate for equal pay, joining in a class-action lawsuit with 27 other team members against the United States Soccer Federation, accusing the organization of gender discrimination.
One central argument for equal pay between the soccer teams is that the women’s team has consistently outperformed the U.S. men’s national soccer team for many years now, being ranked No. 1 in the world and winning multiple World Cups and Olympic Gold Medals in recent years.
As The Washington Post reports, when the women’s team won the 2015 World Cup they split a a bonus of $1.73 million while in comparison the men’s team shared a $5.38 million after losing in Round 16 of the 2014 World Cup.
