Procter & Gamble, the parent company to Secret deodorant, will donate $529,000 to the U.S. women’s national soccer team after their World Cup victory to help close the pay gap.
What We Know:
- All 28 members of the team filed a lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation earlier this year for gender discrimination which includes unequal pay, practice time, practice location, medical treatment, coaching, and travel. The team said they have faced “institutional gender discrimination” for years.
- One of the largest differences in compensation between the men and women’s team is the bonus offered for competing in the World Cup, which is determined by FIFA; the men’s team of 32 players is offered $400 million compared to the $30 million the women’s team receives.
- The squad beat England on July 2 to win the World Cup; The win inspired many team sponsors to support their battle against the US Soccer Federation, including team sponsor Procter & Gamble. They joined the fight with a donation “to be on the right side of history.”
We’re taking action to help close the @USWNT gender pay gap by giving $529K ($23k x 23 players) to the @USWNTPlayers. #WeSeeEqual #EqualPay #PayThem #USWNT #USWNTPA #DontSweatFairPay #ASNS pic.twitter.com/g9Mf5zOtgb
— Secret Deodorant (@SecretDeodorant) July 14, 2019
- The company announced their donation with a full-page ad in the Sunday New York Times. They used this as an opportunity to address gender pay equality as a much larger issue and urged the U.S. Soccer Federation to become an example of strength for the gender gap movement for all female athletes.
Full page ad from @SecretDeodorant in today’s NY Times (main section) announcing their donation and support of #EqualPay for #USWNT/@USWNTPlayers. pic.twitter.com/pF6hW2Gh36
— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) July 14, 2019
- Other sponsors have made similar financial statements in support of the team and their legal battle for equality; Luna Bar promised each player who made the World Cup roster a $31,250 bonus to make up for the difference between the men and women’s bonus, and Visa announced that at least half of its new five-year sponsorship of the U.S. Soccer Federation must go directly to the women’s national team.
Procter & Gamble has made their statement of support for the U.S. National team more publicly than any other sponsor, which may inspire more significant action in support of the team’s battle for equality.
