“Equal pay! Equal Pay!” These are the chants that could be heard along the parade route in the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan where thousands of fans had lined up to celebrate the fourth FIFA World cup win for the U.S. Women’s National Team on July 10, 2019.
Among the thousands of jubilant fans were many young girls and women showing their support for the soccer heroes with signs calling for pay equality. The women’s soccer team which beat the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup final 2-0 on Sunday, July 7, 2019, clinching the second cup win in a row, clearly appreciated the show of support from their fans; some of the players joining into the chorus for equal pay.
Despite racking in their fourth World Cup win, the total prize money awarded to winning team U.S.A. is $4 million. In contrast, the French National Soccer Team last year took home a total of $38 million when it beat Croatia in the World Cup final. The 24 World Cup female teams competed for their share of $30 million in prize money compared to $400 million FIFA allocated to the Men’s World Cup in 2018.
A float decorated with a giant globe took members of the national soccer team and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio through the famous Canyon of Heroes between Battery and City Hall as confetti drifted down from office buildings before heading to City Hall for a ceremony. Before handing the team symbolic keys to the city, the Mayor touched on the pay discrepancy. “This team has shown an undeniable truth, an unalienable right, that the equality of women must be guaranteed in this nation and lets honor them by doing it,” the Mayor said. New York Governor Cuomo set an example before the parade kicked off; he signed a new pay equity legislation that expands the state’s equal pay laws. It prohibits unequal pay on the basis of a protected class for all substantially similar work and and forbids employers from asking prospective employees about their salary history.
Scenes from the Ticker Tape Parade:
