Women’s soccer stars, Biden slam pay gap
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden began making the case Wednesday that the pay disparity between men and women has hurt the economy, bringing members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team to the White House to help set new goals for equality.
Wednesday marked “Equal Pay Day” — which is how far into the year women must work on average to make up the pay disparity between what men and women earned the prior year. The Census Bureau estimates that a woman working full-time would earn about 82 cents for each dollar paid to a man.
Biden and his wife, Jill, hosted a roundtable with Margaret Purce and Megan Rapinoe of the U.S. women’s national soccer team, which most recently won the World’s Cup in 2019 and has challenged the U.S. Soccer Federation over wage discrimination.
Rapinoe also testified to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and told lawmakers Wednesday that women can’t escape inequity in compensation by simply outperforming male counterparts — an argument that prompted some Republicans to question gender gaps broadly.
“What we’ve learned and what we continue to learn is that there is no level of status, accomplishments or power that will protect you from the clutches of inequity,” she told the panel, testifying virtually. “One cannot simply outperform inequality or be excellent enough to escape discrimination of any kind.”
She said the women’s national team has won four World Cup championships on top of four Olympic gold medals, a record that far outshines that of the U.S. Men’s National Team, which has never reached such international heights. And though the women’s team has risen in popularity with its success, its lawsuit claims its members still experience a wide gap in pay compared to players on the men’s team.
“We have filled stadiums, broken viewing records, and sold out jerseys, all popular metrics by which we are judged,” Rapinoe said. “Yet despite all of this, we are still paid less than men — for each trophy, of which there are many, each win, each tie, each time we play.”
She said that if World Cup champions can experience inequity in pay, the same can happen “to every person marginalized by gender.”
The pay gap impacts the entire economy in ways that exacerbate other issues such as racial inequality. The National Women’s Law Center found that Black women earn just 63 cents for a dollar paid to a non-Hispanic white man, while Hispanic women make only 55 cents. That difference translates into a loss of roughly $1 million in income over a lifetime.
“These aren’t simply women’s issues,” Cecilia Rouse, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said at Wednesday’s press briefing. “They affect all families, the ability of our economy to recover, and our nation’s competitiveness.”
The Biden administration is pushing several policies to help narrow the gap. It backs the Paycheck Fairness Protection Act, which would enhance a 1963 law by improving employers’ transparency on wages, require employers to show that any discrepancies are because of job qualifications and prevent employers from retaliating against workers who express concerns about pay disparities.
The administration also supports paid family leave and greater access to child care. A February research paper from the San Francisco Federal Reserve found that the pandemic caused mothers to disproportionately leave the job market, as many lacked in-class school and child care options. The paper noted that a flexible work schedule would likely make life easier for mothers with jobs.
The class action against the United States Soccer Federation, filed by Rapinoe and more than 25 of her teammates, is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which is considering their request to revive the pay bias allegations. A proposed settlement covers the women’s claims of discrimination in other terms and conditions of employment besides pay, including team travel, playing conditions and professional support.
Rapinoe’s testimony, along with that of experts in gender equality, economics and workplace issues sparked debate with Republican members.
Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, for example, suggested the free market should set salaries and said the gap doesn’t compare “apples to apples.” He said skill and experience levels and the amount of hours worked all contribute to setting salaries.
“Businesses pay for performance, and the cream rises to the top,” Fallon said. “If these alarming disparities exist in actuality, why would businesses not just hire all women?”