Did you know that men who play professional soccer are paid significantly different and some people refuse to believe that this is unfair? In my opinion, I believe that all women who play professional soccer should be paid the same. During the 2010 World Cup, the prize pool for men was about $30 million, while for the 2011 World Cup for women the prize pool was only $1 million dollars. Men have 30 times more money in the prize pool. This is a major difference in money for exactly the same sport. Some people don’t believe that the prize pool difference is unfair.
In addition, as stated in, “Differences Between Men and Women in Professional Soccer,” the winning men’s team of the 2014 FIFA World Cup won over 17 times more prize money than the winning women’s team, which is an example of a giant pay gap with men and women in professional soccer. Also, female athletes receive unequal opportunities in advertising for large companies while men always receive large advertisements and endorsements compared to women in professional soccer. A reason why is because, “Research shows how women are often represented in accordance to dominance in femininity and that the inequality women in sports face are due to society holding masculinity above all else.” Society favors men in sports over women. Women are also objectified in magazines to increase readers and sales which is one of the only advertisements they get.
Furthermore, the US women’s soccer team visited the White House in 2021. One of the leading causes of this event was Megan Rapinoe. She caused the whole reason for the visit to the White House. Rapinoe was a frequent critic of old President Donald Trump, and many of the policies enacted by his administration since his election. This led to a massive argument between both of them on Twitter eventually, and Trump said that he would invite the team to the White House even if they win or lose. Although, the women’s soccer team only visited the White House when President Biden was in office. All of these events caused Equal Pay Day.
In conclusion, those are the many reasons why I believe that the inequality between men and women is extremely unfair and not right. Women should be paid just as much because they play the exact same sport, and some women may have the same skill as men, so it is fair that they are paid the same.
