Helmed by co-captains Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe, the U.S. Women’s National Team made history last summer, winning its fourth Women’s World Cup and earning a ticker-tape victory parade in Manhattan. But the celebrations, team members say, ring hollow until they achieve pay equity with their male counterparts. Last March, the team filed a lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, arguing that it is in violation of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Among the suit’s examples: Players for the women’s team, which has four Olympic gold medals and four Women’s World Cup titles, earn a maximum of $99,000 annually. Top salary for their counterparts on the men’s team—which did not qualify for the 2019 World Cup and had its best finish, in third place, in 1930—is $263,320. The issue extends far beyond sports. “It’s about women in all industries,” Morgan said last March. “Our hope is that we not only set up ourselves, we set up the next generation as well.”
