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This Week In Women's Sports: U.S. Senate Backs The USWNT, Jennie Finch Makes Baseball History

Alana Glass
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I cover women in sports
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U.S. Senate supports the U.S. Women’s National Team in its fight for equal pay

The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team gained support from the U.S. Senate in its fight for equal pay.

Sponsored by Sen. Patty Murry (D-Wash.) and 21 Democratic co-sponsors, the Senate passed a resolution (S.Res.462) urging the United States Soccer Federation to “immediately eliminate gender pay inequity and treat all athletes with the same respect and dignity.”

Further, the resolution “supports an end to pay discrimination based on gender and the strengthening of equal pay protections.”

While this resolution is non-binding, it does put U.S. Soccer on notice that the national team has the unanimous backing of the Senate – both liberals and conservatives.

Here are several highlights from the resolution (read the full text here):

  • Whereas the 2015 final Women’s World Cup match generated an audience of approximately 750,000,000 viewers worldwide and more than 25,000,000 viewers in the United States, the largest audience of any soccer game shown in the United States on English language television.
  • Whereas the members of the United States Women’s National Team, despite the international success of the members, are consistently paid less than similarly situated members of the United States Men’s National Team for doing the same job, regardless of the performance of the teams.
  • Whereas the pay disparities suffered by the members of the United States Women’s National Team are reflective of the reality of many women in the United States who, more than 50 years after the enactment of the Equal Pay Act, still make on average only 79 cents for each dollar made by a male counterpart.
  • Whereas unequal pay on the basis of gender tells women and girls that, whether on the soccer field or in the office, the hard work of the women or girls is not valued equally to that of male counterparts.

Also, this week oral arguments were heard by Hon. Sharon Johnson Coleman in the case of United States Soccer Federation, Inc. v. United States Women's National Soccer Team Players Association, filed in the U.S. District Court's Northern District of Illinois (case number is 1:16-cv-01923).

As a refresher, U.S. Soccer filed a lawsuit in February 2016 against the United States Women’s National Team Players Association. At issue here is the parties’ collective bargaining agreement that expired in 2012 and the subsequent memorandum of understanding running until the end of 2016. The memo does not specifically mention a “no strike clause” and U.S. Soccer argues that the provision is implied.

Here, the judge did not indicate when she might rule, but a decision in the Players Association favor could change the trajectory of the 2016 Olympics.

Laura Massaro wins squash World Series title and equal pay 

England’s Laura Massaro entered the gender equality record books by winning the PSA Dubai World Series Final. Massaro collected $42,750, which is the largest prize in the history of women’s squash and equals the winnings of Frenchman Gregory Gaultier.

“I told myself it was the final match of the season, and coming on for that fifth game I just told myself there was one game to go and I’m so pleased to come through in the end,” said Massaro to World of Squash Federation.

“To have equal prize money for the women and to be on a level par with the men in these big events now, the women feel like we deserve it, and I hope that today showed that we do.”

While this is one small step for squash, prize earnings for women in sports is still brutally unequal. Forbes.com contributor, Andrew Brennan discussed which sports have the largest and smallest pay gaps here.

Jennie Finch makes professional baseball history

National champion and Olympic gold medalist in softball, Jennie Finch, became the first woman to manage a men’s professional baseball team. Finch led the Atlantic League’s Bridgeport Bluefish to a 3-1 victory. While her stint in the dugout was a strictly guest appearance, the historic moment has the potential to push more women into baseball’s coaching ranks. We all hope that MLB was watching!

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Alana Glass
Alana Glass