While you are enjoying our Labor Day promotion, we would like to draw your attention to one of the important topics in the society. Namely, this year, women’s soccer is in focus. And so is Megan Rapinoe. She turned into a true spokes person and proved that women can stand their ground. Furthermore, they deserve to be paid equally. Co-captain of the U.S. women’s national soccer team has reportedly declared herself as a “walking protest”. This Labor Day we are exploring labor and gender pay gap awareness.
Soccer Star Pushing the Boundaries
The all-American women hero protested a lot in her own way. Like it or not, she has beliefs and is ready to fight for them. Above all, her advantage is in a fact that she lives in a system that gave her that right to protest, in the first place.
The reason why some athletes are big is not just in their professional success and medals. Each professional who is that much exposed has a certain responsibility to be socially engaged. To pinpoint the problems and difficulties their people are facing, to tackle issues.
Female Vs. Male Soccer
The most recent in Rapinoe’s endeavor is the fight to get equal pay. According to the arguments we have seen so far, the men win less in professional soccer, but earn $30,000 more per player. Interestingly, women’s team has generated more profit than the men’s team. Oddly, the women playing soccer also proved to be able to attract more viewers than men, in the U.S.
The same national team won three of the last four Olympic gold medals in soccer.
When asked to explain her reasons for this battle, Rapinoe reportedly stated:
“It’s actually about women everywhere being treated equally and respectfully in the workplace. And so, if that means that we’re gonna go to trial, then we’re going to do that, and we’re going to do it very confidently.”
Gender Pay Gap, a Reality
Gender pay gap is no news. Not just in the U.S., but worldwide, women earn less than men while doing the same amount of work. If we focus on the U.S. only, the rough estimate is that a woman earns 79 cents for each dollar a man earns.
Furthermore, women reach their peak in earnings almost 10 years earlier than men do. For millennials, for example, this means that the woman who has reached the age of 40 can earn $67,000 at most, if we focus on median income. Simultaneously, men continue to see growth of their salaries for the next 9 to 10 years. Eventually, the most a man at late 40ies can earn is $102,000 (median income).
What Women Can Do
The above stated figures are reality. Women are used to it. Many of them are not even aware of how much a man in their shoes would be eligible to earn. The advice professionals share with women come down to what women can do in order to show additional effort to reach the male pay scale.
Moreover, women often hear that they have made bad choices regarding college majors, selecting the ones that do not pay well. Or, that they do not know how to negotiate the starting salary. Above all, in case they do figure out that they deserve the higher amounts, they are put in a situation to prove it.
This is where people like Rapinoe step in. Successful and outspoken, people like her can raise awareness of how much effort women are able to put into their work. Dedication they can show is beyond comparison. Eventually, women are natural multi-taskers and leaders and deserve appreciation.
Do you feel there is a significant gender pay gap in your community?
Yes, I finally ended up leaving my job because of it. After years of training to take over as manager the position was handed to a man with zero experience or training.