Offside h, the 21st century: a time of progression, Improvement, and constructive discussion. Not to say that there aren't still problems. Five players from the U.S. women’s national soccer team (Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Rebecca Sauerbrunn, and Alex Morgan) filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regarding the U.S. Soccer Federation’s (USSF) wage discrimination in paying men far more than women. So do they have a case? According to the New York Times, women make $3,600 per friendly (of which there are 20 in a year) with a $1,350 bonus if they win. The men, on the other hand, pocket $5,000 per game and average $8,166 in bonuses for each win. All told, the maximum the women can make ina year is $99,000 while the men can pull in $263,320. Furthering this, the women won the World Cup in 2015 and shared a $2 million purse among the squad. Otherpress 9% Eric Wilkins Editor-in-Chief M editor@theotherpress.ca Lauren Kelly Assistant Editor Massistant@theotherpress.ca Mercedes Deutscher Adam Tatelman Arts Editor M arts@theotherpress.ca Angela Ho Business Manager Jacey Gibb Distribution Manager Cara Seccafien Layout Manager Joel McCarthy Graphics Manager Elizabeth Jacob Production Assistant i News Editor Mi news@theotherpress.ca Meanwhile, the men failed to advance beyond the round of 16 and still raked in $9 million. Along with this the USSF projects the women to be approximately $5 million in the black as the men drop $1 million into the red. But, as usual, the issue isn’t black and white. For starters, the collective bargaining agreements for the men and women are very different. The women are salaried (and have certain benefits the men don’t such as health care and severance) while the men are on a pay-for-play model. Most who have reported on the story more or less ignore this fact, choosing instead to skew the stats by citing the average per game. Also of note, though this is currently a point of contention between the two sides, the CBA for the women’s national team was looked at as recently as 2013. The pay discrepancy is defended by some by rationalizing that many men have demanding club schedules; the National 1 9 So Ed Appleby Ilustrator Jony Roy Social Media Coordinator Aaron Guillen Staff Reporter Staff Writers Rebecca Peterson Cazzy Lewchuk Jamal Al-Bayaa Women’s Soccer League is actually run by the USSF and is a great deal (10 teams compared to a typical 20) smaller. But all of this aside, the elephant in the room has to be addressed: the men’s game (both participation and financial figures) is astronomically larger than the women’s. The 2014 Men’s World Cup saw $529 million in sponsorship revenue before the women’s dragged in a paltry $17 million in 2015. To answer the concerns about World Cup bonuses, most fail to realize that this money comes directly from FIFA—the USSF has no control over this—and is, again, related to revenue. Finally, on a closely related note, while the USSF is seeing more of a profit from its women’s team, it’s difficult to discount the men’s team (through no virtue of their own other than being male) being distinctly more visible. Should any of this really make a difference? No, not really. Both squads are doing the same Davie Wong Sports Editor Msports@theotherpress.ca Chitwan Khosla Features Editor M features@theotherpress.ca Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor Mlifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca Elliot Chan Opinions Editor m, Mopinions@theotherpress.ca Chandler Walter Humour Editor Mhumour@theotherpress.ca Senior Columnists David Manky Jerrison Oracion Lauren Paulsen Contributors Cheryl Minns job, and in this time of equal opportunity and equal pay, no one should bat an eyelash to see identical paycheques. But, as with anything else, it’s all about money—profit and maximizing advertising opportunities/ visibility. When Tim Howard suits up for Everton or even Michael Bradley for Toronto FC, there are eyes watching them, on TV and in the stands. Fans know who they are. Fans know they're USMNT players. But if Alex Morgan, one of the more popular women’s players, hits the pitch for the Orlando Pride, the question on most people’s minds would be whether a team called the Orlando Pride even exists. Recognition. It should also be noted that, while it pains me to say this, the USSF choosing to pay their women equally could set a dangerous precedent that could hurt the women’s scene. While the popularity of women’s soccer in the USA is at an all-time high, other countries are not as Rm 1020 — 700 Royal Ave. Douglas College New Westminster, BC V3L 5B2 & 604.525.3542 E 5 y £ a a 3 o vu 3 Ss > 2 ° wn vu 2 ° = fortunate. Even on the biggest stage, the Women’s World Cup only has 24 teams as opposed to the men’s 32. If the U.S. women are successful, the world could see other countries—countries with less money to work with— having to follow suit, whether that be due to ethics or just to placate the masses. The fallout could be several national women’s programs being cut altogether since there just wouldn't be enough financial support. So if the question is merely whether women should be paid the same, the answer is an obvious “yes.” However, with all the factors taken into consideration, women may have to suffer lower pay until such a time as the soccer world can actually support equality. Danke danke, Onic Yilhi Editor-in-Chief @ theotherpress.ca M editor@theotherpress.ca ¥ ©/theotherpress f/DouglasOtherPress (¥ The Other Press has been Douglas College’s student newspaper since 1976. Since 1978 we have been an autonomous publication, independent of the student union. We are a registered society under the Society Act of British Columbia, governed by an eight-person board of directors appointed by our staff. Our head office is located in the New Westminster campus. (¥ The Other Press is published weekly during the fall and winter semesters, and monthly during the summer. We receive our funding from a student levy collected through tutition fees every semester at registration, and from local and national advertising revenue. The Other Press is a member of the Canadian University Press (CUP), a syndicate of student newspapers that includes papers from all across Canada. (¥ The Other Press reserves the right to choose what we will publish, and we will not publish material that is hateful, obscene, or condones or promotes illegal activities. Submissions may be edited for clarity and brevity if necessary. All images used are copyright to their respective owners.