The U.S. Women’s Soccer team are out of the #WorldCup, and talk of ‘equal pay’ is right back on the agenda. Numbers are spat out from the news. Headlines of 'equity’ wrap around our heads. The ugly face of outrage gurgles once again. But are the U.S. Women’s Team really paid less? Well, no. Neither in absolute terms, or by games played; and if they were paid less, it was because they chose differently to the men. Once again, it’s about choice. The fact is, before all this kicked off, both the men’s and women’s teams were offered the same deals, and both chose differently. The men chose raw money per game played, and the women chose a hybrid, with less money, but with a variety of guarantees and in-kind benefits instead. Different deals, chosen by different teams, for different reasons. It needn’t get more complicated or outrageous than that. Except, inevitably, it has become so. Despite more and more concessions being made, and more and more money sent to the women’s team as ‘compensation’, the situation has now gotten so out of hand, that not only will the women’s team get paid more than the men’s team, but they will also get paid more than whichever team wins the World Cup next week. Yes it’s absurd. And yes, whilst it may just seem like a bunch of rich people squabbling, it is another reminder of what really shapes #thepaygap That is: women choose differently to men. The sad irony is that the men’s team would have been paid more had they chosen the women’s deal, and the women would have been paid more had they gone with the men’s. But such is life, we make choices and we live by the consequences… …that is, unless you’re a bunch of millionaires kicking a ball. What do you think? ~ Images by Timothy Tan, Sara Bertoni, Nathan Rogers, and Thomas Terer. #theworldcup #womensfootball #paygap #uswomenssoccer

2023-08-09