I made you a list… but first let’s talk about why.
The United States Women’s National Soccer Team has won three World Cups and four Olympic gold medals. An estimated 30 million people watched the 2015 World Cup final, witnessing an electric offense that sealed a huge win against Japan. It was, and remains, the highest rated soccer match in American history, including games played by the U.S. men’s national team. Mothers around the country watched with their daughters. Little girls cheered from coast to coast, believing anything is possible. As women, we were hopeful. We were inspired. In the words of President Obama, “This team taught all America’s children that playing like a girl means you’re a badass.”
I’m lucky to work for PowerToFly — a team of people who are passionate advocates for gender equality in talent acquisition, including getting equal pay- and I was shocked to learn during a 60 Minutes news segment that despite their achievements, the Women’s Soccer team players say they have been discriminated against, paid less and treated worse, in comparison to the U.S. men’s team. The team is fighting the U.S. Soccer Federation over wages and treatment they say are not commensurate with their male counterparts. They hope a victory will help close the gap, not just in sport, but in any job where women do the same work as men for less pay.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to hear this. Because despite significant strides for equal pay for equal work, we really have a long long way to go. In fact, it’s been estimated that women are typically paid 79% of what men are paid. And at the current pace, the average woman won’t earn equal pay until 2059, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. So much for inspiring our daughters.
The opportunity is now to change that trend. It’s time for all women to stand up and fight for equal pay for equal work — or move to companies that are committed to providing equal pay for equal work consistently throughout their organizations like Accenture Tech Labs, Airbnb, Amazon, American Airlines, TheBostonConsultingGroup, Buffer, Care, CEB, Cisco, Deloitte Digital, Dow Chemical Company, Expedia, The Gap, Glassdoor, GoDaddy, Jet.com, Johnson, L'Oreal, PepsiCo, Pinterest, Popcorn Heaven, PwC US, Rebecca Minkoff, Salesforce, Slack, Spotify, Staples, and Stella McCartney.
Here at PowerToFly, our mission is simple: encourage diversity recruiting and hiring by leveraging the tools and employer branding services that committed businesses and enterprises need.
