US Women’s Soccer World Cup Win Comes Despite Huge Inequalities

[niyad]

US Women’s Soccer World Cup Win Comes Despite Huge Inequalities


The United States’ women’s soccer team defeated Japan this weekend in an impressive and fast-paced game, bringing home the championship trophy for the first time in 16 years. But despite national and international celebration, disparities in coverage, respect, and pay still linger between women’s and men’s soccer teams.



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Even so, feminists have been noting the differences between coverage of last year’s men’s World Cup in Brazil and this year’s tournament in Canada. The months of in-depth coverage leading up to the men’s World Cup last year dramatically overshadows the limited coverage of the women’s cup, which mostly focused on the last two weeks of the tournament.

As Maggie Mertens wrote for the Atlantic, “The gender inequities in sports are just as vast as those faced by women in corporate offices and on movie sets, but for some reason they fail to incite the same level of outrage.” There is a massive pay gap between male and female professional athletes. In this tournament alone the ************US world champions of the women’s World Cup will earn collectively $15 million- a stark difference from the $576 million earned collectively by the US men’s team, who lost in the first round of the tournament last year.*********
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Indeed, Fox Sports- the primary United States carrier of the FIFA World Cup- had to expand its coverage of the tournament with 30 additional hours of programming, including expanded pre- and post-game coverage, due to unprecedented demand for coverage of this championship match. The increase in programming is promising, although we are far from parity; a new report by researchers from USC and Purdue University found that ESPN’s coverage of sports news through program SportsCenter only gave 2% airtime to women in 2014.

A group of more than 40 leading women’s soccer players have recently filed a lawsuit against FIFA for gender-based discrimination, specifically citing FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) decisions to have the women’s tournament played on artificial turf as opposed to a grass field. Those filing the lawsuit call artificial turf an “inferior surface,” and cite the increased risk of injury and significant temperature difference on the field that artificial turf creates. In this World Cup, the artificial turf brought temperatures on the field to up to 120 degrees. Every men’s World Cup since 1930 has been played on natural grass, while most women’s World Cup matches, as well as the next six scheduled, are slated to be played on artificial turf.


http://feminist.org/blog/index.php/2015/07/06/usa-womens-soccer-wins-despite-huge-inequalities

[SunSeeker]

1. Our 3-time world champion women's team gets $15M; our losing men's team gets $576M?!

Talk about adding insult to the injury of playing on artificial turf!

[niyad]

2. and, if I understand correctly, the US men's team has never won the world cup.

the utter corruption and sexism of fifa makes me sick.

and people wonder why I don't care about sports.

[SunSeeker]

4. 25.4 million people watched the Womens' World Cup game.

That's more than watched the NBA finals or the World Series --including game 7.

This game was watched by more people than any other soccer game in U.S. history. FIFA and Fox made a lot of money airing that game, but the women were paid chump change compared to the men's team.

You may not care for sports, but a lot of us do, and it's about time our female athletes benefited from that fact.

[niyad]

5. I absolutely agree with you about the pay. have always believed that.

[xocet]

7. You are correct: the highest the US Men's National Team has ever placed is third back in 1930...

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/uruguay1930/index.html

[Lucky Luciano]

3. Artificial turf makes no sense.

Grass should be the only field. Ridiculous.


What kinda of crowds does women's soccer attract relative to men? Pay will be all about the numbers of eyeballs.


Seems like women's tennis does well. Is that due to ogling men that like to stare at tall slim athletic blondes? I bet that is part of it, but the Williams sisters are a true force to be reckoned with. People want to see that too.

[SunSeeker]

6. It got "more eyeballs" than any other soccer game, men's or women's, in US history.

Rachel Maddow talked about that tonight. She pointed out that 25.4 million people watched the Womens' World Cup game. That's more than watched the NBA finals or the World Series --including game 7. 

[Lucky Luciano]

9. That is just one game. I will tell you this though -

If they don't get an increase based on this past performance (of eyeballs), then that would be criminal. If they can maintain a consistent following with good ratings, then their pay should hopefully skyrocket. Some smart well financed marketing group should get on that.

[geek tragedy]

14. no, it's more about tennis being an individual sport where viewers get invested

in personalities. The women's game can be every bit as dramatic and compelling to watch.

[SunSeeker]

8. BTW, the Victory Party will be at L.A. Live tomorrow!

A celebratory rally is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Microsoft Square at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles.Gates will open at 9 a.m.

There will be free parking beginning at 9 a.m. in Lot W- Gate B (1005 W. Chick Hearn Ct, Los Angeles, CA 90015). You may also park in Lot C- North (1150 L.A. LIVE WY, Los Angeles CA 90015).

http://patch.com/california/losalamitos/world-cup-victory-celebration-planned-tuesday?utm_source=article-mostrecent&utm_medium=rss&utm_term=sports&utm_campaign=recirc&utm_content=aol

[niyad]

10. thank you!! would you please post this as its own op--in general, and in the CA forum?

let's get the word out!!

[SunSeeker]

12. Done!

[niyad]

13. thank you!!

[niyad]

11. . . .