Megan Rapinoe talked about the gender pay gap and said that even though she’s a professional athlete she’s still “paid less” than men who “do the same job.”
“I’ve been devalued,” the U.S. Women’s Soccer star shared, according to a White House pool report on Wednesday.
“I’ve been disrespected and dismissed because I’m a woman and I’ve been told I don’t deserve any more than less because I am a woman,” she added. (RELATED: Megan Rapinoe Defends Decision To Protest During The National Anthem)
WATCH:
Megan Rapinoe: “I’ve been devalued, I’ve been disrespected and dismissed because I am a woman. I’ve been told that I don’t deserve any more than less because I am a woman. Despite all the wins, I’m still paid less than men who do the same job that I do.” https://t.co/canJYaCV9s pic.twitter.com/yFycaMbVXn
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 24, 2021
“Despite all the wins, I’m still paid less than men who do the same job that I do,” Rapinoe continued. “For each trophy, of which there are many, and for each win, for each tie and for each time we play, it’s less.” (RELATED: Megan Rapinoe Calls Sports Illustrated For Lack Of Diversity While Accepting Award)
The soccer star then explained the “need for more work to be done on policies” that will “support equal pay and fight against injustices and inequalities that women face,” the pool report added.
During the Equal Pay Day event, first lady Jill Biden talked about how she didn’t want her granddaughters fighting the same battle.
“Equal work deserves equal pay no matter who does it,” FLOTUS shared, per a pool report. “I don’t want my granddaughters to have to fight this same battle. It’s way past time to pay women equally.”
In 2019, Rapinoe and members of the the U.S. Women’s National Team filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer federation seeking $66 million in damages alleging they were being paid less than their male counterpart.
In 2020, a federal judge dismissed the claim under the grounds that they “both played more games and made more money than the MNT [men’s national team] per game” during the time period in dispute, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Judge R. Gary Klausner also dismissed it because the team previously “rejected an offer to be paid under the same pay-to-play structure” as the men,” the outlet noted.