The issue that I plan to discuss in my issue brief is equal pay for the women’s national soccer team. I picked this topic because it is one that I am already very interested and invested in. I have been following their story for a long time, and most recently, they have filed a law suit against the U.S. soccer federation on the basis of discrimination. The court case has not happened yet, as it is currently scheduled for May 5th. The USWNT also recently qualified for the Olympics this summer (if the Olympics still happen). The outcome of the court trail could significantly effect the women’s income for the year. Writing my issue brief I would argue for the policy that women should make proportionally as much as their mens counterparts, meaning that the women earn the same percent of their revenue that the men earn of theirs.
The cause of the issue is intentional. The USWNT receives worse training facilities, doctors, and transportations to games than their men counterparts and they bring in the same, if not, more revenue than the USMNT does. Both teams are run under the same company, the U.S. Soccer Federation. The difference occurs in which contract each team was offered. The women’s team was offered a much worse contract and were discriminated against.
One instrument I will use to discuss the policy will be identifying stakeholders. Many people work for the U.S. soccer federation. Increasing the USWNT salary will obviously take the money from somewhere else. I would research exactly how to give he USWNT the salary they deserve while not neglecting the ones that work for them. I would also like to look into companies that sponsor either the USMNT or USWNT and think about creating a policy that requires companies that want to sponsor one team to be required to sponsor the other as well. Mandates could be used to enforce this requirement. If a company did not follow this rule they would receive a fine.
Another instrument will be using capacity builders. They could be used to encourage support of this new policy. There could be advertisements about women’s rights or public speeches presented, showing why increasing the USWNT salary would be the right thing to do.
I think this is an excellent idea for an issue of belief, and I love how you will be discussing not exactly equal pay, but instead proportionally making the same amount as the men’s team. The cause is clear, which you address well. Mandates could also be used to enforce equal proportional pay and treatment as well. I’m not sure if this would be a good idea for a capacity builder, but what if the women’s soccer team boycotted the U.S. Soccer Federation in some way.
I agree that mandates would be a better than capacity builders but I’m not sure I understand what you mean about the women’s soccer team boycotting the federation. Do you mean they would refuse to play?
I think this is an excellent idea for your issue brief, as I feel that this is something you are very passionate about.
Also, I did hear that there were recent developments in terms of the case for equal pay and that the previous US Soccer head (?) resigned after the awful comments the US Soccer said about the unequal pay. Maybe you can briefly touch on that as well.
Hope your doing well during our quarantine, too! Lollll
Yes the President of the U.S. Soccer Federation resigned about a week ago and took a lot of blame and responsibility of how the women’s team was treated.
Given the upcoming lawsuit I think this is a great idea! Given that they qualified for the olympics, I think it would be interesting to look into and report on how that may change the outlook of the lawsuit if the olympics ultimately get canceled as a result of coronavirus. Using mandates in such a way that stakeholders pull out or the association loses capital funding would be a very beneficial choice.
I really like the idea about mandates! I will definitely look into if/how the olympics could affect the outcome of the lawsuit.
Hi Carly,
Beyond the instrument of the lawsuit in place, what kinds of ways could such a mandate be implemented and by whom? That’s the part where I think you need to be creative or do more research. Also, who would be the people who would enact or pay for the capacity-building? My sense is that you might want to consider whether there are state or federal laws or a possibility for new legislation that would make sense as a way to move forward on this issue.
Thinking about mandates, I will definitely do some research. I was going back and forth between if a mandate should be made by the U.S. Soccer Federation since they will most likely change some policies after the lawsuit, or if the mandates should be made by someone higher than U.S. Soccer, so then they receive punishment if they discriminate again. I think it would be beneficial to be made by someone higher up, but I would have to research exactly who that would be. Thank you for the advice!
Yes, maybe someone higher up!
This is a great idea for your issue brief, and the specific lawsuit happening with the USWNT is an awesome focal point in my opinion. Your policy instruments are strong considerations as well, such as identifying stakeholders. I feel like that’s the strongest of the ones you proposed, though, because it would be the biggest motivator for people in positions to enact change to actually perform it.
I will definitely focus more on identifying stakeholders. I agree that it is the strongest out of the ones I first proposed.
This seems like a good topic for the issue brief. I am interested in how specific it is regarding the lawsuit and how there are so many specifics to use. What would happen if there are people that still strongly push back despite all this and force legislation that limits?
I’m not sure I understand the question. Are you saying what happens if the public does not agree with increase the women’s salary? If so, it already seems like the public sides with the women’s team after the U.S. Soccer Federation President resigned because of all the criticism he was receiving over the lawsuit. But I will look more into how the majority of the public feels about this topic and what issues it could create.