Equal Pay, Prize Money and Investment
We are social impact partners on both the “LILLY” Ledbetter and “LFG” films calling for equal pay. In March 2020, our Youth Council will host an “LFG” screening and discussion about the athlete advocates on the US Women’s National Soccer Team who have inspired them.
The Equality League published an open letter to Carlos Cordeiro, President of the US Soccer Federation, and Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, with more than 100 signatories from around the world - including the US National Women’s Team Players’ Association. It is time for girls, women, and the next generation of female-identifying athletes to receive equal pay, equal prize money, equal investment, equal protection, and equal opportunity. Join our multi-sector coalition, for the time is now for solidarity and action.
July 15, 2019
Carlos Cordeiro, President
United States Soccer Federation
Gianni Infantino, President
Fédération Internationale de Football Association
Dear Messrs Cordeiro and Infantino:
The Women’s World Cup in France ignited global enthusiasm and expectations for equal pay and equal prize money in football. The exceptional talent and record viewership driven by the Women’s World Cup exposed the pay structure and prize gaps between female and male athletes as indefensible and anachronistic.
Globally, the pay gap for prize money is stark. In 2018, the Men’s World Cup in Russia had a prize purse of $400 million. This year, the Women’s World Cup purse was a mere $30 million—a $370 million-dollar gap. At the U.S. Soccer Federation level, despite consistently outperforming the US Men’s team in global play with four World Cups won, an enormous gap remains.
We urge your federations to swiftly address compensation inequities between women and men – and to set new standards of equality for all football federations and sport federations worldwide.
We the undersigned organizations ask you to commit to equal pay, equal prize money, equal protection, and equal opportunity for women and the next generation of female-identifying athletes. The strength and impact of sport to lead moments of cultural change is a value we share.
Your leadership on this issue will send a strong signal to other countries who participate in “the beautiful game”; that FIFA and U.S. Soccer will not tolerate ugly gender discrimination and that it recognizes the value female athletes bring to the cross-cultural and near universal reach of football.
Mara Gubuan — Founder of Equality League
USWNT Players Association
Time’s Up
Tina Brown
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina
Abigail E. Disney — Activist and Filmmaker
Prince Ali of Jordan — Founder and Chairman of AFDP Global
Lori Lindsey — Former member U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team
Kelly Lindsey — Former member U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team
Terri Jackson — Executive Director, WNBPA
Hilary Pennington — Executive Vice President, Ford Foundation
Ana L. Oliveira — President & CEO, The New York Women’s Foundation
Christina Lowery — CEO, Girl Rising
David Grevemberg
Dr. Jen Welter — First female NFL coach
Athlete Ally
Gigi Alford — Sport and Rights Alliance
Nicole Allison — Director of Partnership Marketing, NHL
Daniyal Alvi — National Director, Special Olympics Pakistan
Lindsay Amstutz — Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Marketing, FOX Sports
Lauren Anderson — Global Women’s Advocate and former FBI Executive
Heather Arnet — CEO, Women and Girls Foundation of SWPA
Anthony Arnove — Voices of a People’s History of the United States
Tina Acosta — Director of Program Outreach, Turnstone Center
Athens Women’s Football Summit
Matthew Barrett — Founder, Goal Click
Megan Bartlett — Founder, We Coach
Katherine Bayh — In memory of Senator Birch Bayh, Author of Title IX and the Equal Rights Amendment
Gary Beban — Heisman Trophy winner 1967
Paul Beban — Journalist
Lisa Belcastro — Prince George’s County Public Schools
Ashley Bernhard — CEO, Haven Hill
Rochel Leah Bernstein — Founder, Child Safety Pledge
David Berri — Journalist
Elizabeth Blackney — Executive Director, The People’s Portfolio
Beyond Sport
Trina Bolton
Laura Burton, PhD — Professor, Sport Management, University of Connecticut
Betsy Butler - Executive Director, California Women’s Law Center
Elisa Camahort Page — Author, Road Map for Revolutionaries and BlogHer Co-founder
Scott Carmichael — CEO, Prodigy Sports
Brielle Carter — Program Manager, Ability 360 Sports and Fitness Center
Marysol Castro — Journalist, PA Announcer MLB
JF Cecillon — CEO, Prince Ali AFDP Global
Derek Daniels — Director Adaptive Sports and Fitness Programs, Shirley Ryan Ability Lab
Maggie Davis — JAMAA Productions
Anthony DiCicco
Tom Donahue — Director, This Changes Everything
Susan Dunlap — CEO, Susan Dunlap and Associates
Julie Eddleman — Global Client Partner, Google
Lauren Embrey — Chair, Embrey Family Foundation
Samantha Ettus — CEO, Park Place Payments
Allison Fine — Founder and CEO, Network of Newly Elected Women
Maria Finitzo — Filmmaker, Dilemma of Desire
Shannon Galpin — National Geographic Adventurer and Explorers’ Club Fellow
Tammi Gaw — Founder and Executive Director, Advantage Rule
Joann Gilbert-Holmes
Kathryn Gill — Australian PFA
Majken Gilmartin — Co-founder, Global Goals World Cup
Liz Gray
Andrea Hagan
Pamelya Herndon — CEO, KWH Law Center for Social Justice and Change
David Hirshey — Current Writer-at-Large for Eight by Eight Magazine and former ESPN soccer columnist
Nancy Hogshead-Makar — Olympic Gold Medalist in Swimming and CEO, Champion Women
Diane Hosey — Embrey Family Foundation
Jessica Houssian — Co-Founder & Partner, Equality Fund
Peter Hughes — Director of Adaptive Athletics, University of Arizona
Cynthia Kane — Filmmaker
Harjit Kaur — Pro Bono Coordinating Attorney, Equal Rights Advocates
Deepak KC — Deputy Secretary General, National Paralympic Committee of Nepal
Stacey Keare — President, Girls Rights Project
Dr. Lindsay Krasnoff — Centre for International Studies & Diplomacy
Elizabeth Kristen — Senior Staff Attorney, Fair Play for Girls in Sport project of Legal Aid at Work
Corinna Kuhl
Sarah LaFleur — Founder and CEO, M.M.LaFleur
Leah LaPlaca — Formerly VP of Audience Strategy, ESPN
Nicole M. LaVoi, Ph.D. — Director, The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport
John Lisko — Executive Communications Director, Saatchi & Saatchi
Florence Lloyd-Hughes — Journalist
Melissa Ludtke – Journalist
Padmaja Malladi
Sam Marchiano
Anne-Caroline Pissis Martel
Helen Maroulis - Olympic Gold Medalist in Wrestling
Jennifer McGarry, PhD - Professor and Department Head, Department of Educational Leadership, University of Connecticut
Mary McVeigh Connor - Co-Founder and ED, Soccer Without Borders
Ernestine Miller - Founding member, Women in Sports & Events (WISE)
Pat Mitchell - Media Executive and TEDWomen Curator
Sarah Motola
Kely Nascimento - President, Nascimento Foundation
Stephen Ortega - Professor, Global Sports Initiative at Harvard and Simmons University
Barbara Peacock - Secretary General, International Powerchair Football Association and Coach with Arizona Disabled Sports
Simone Pero - Chair, New York Women in Film and Television
Susie DeLellis Petruccelli - Documentarian, Warriors of a Beautiful Game
Carole Ponchon - CEO, BeInnovActiv
Amy Poyer - Senior Staff Attorney, California Women’s Law Center
Diane Quon - Filmmaker, Dilemma of Desire
David Ramsey - Principal, U.S. Southeast Enterprise Sales, Amazon Web Services
Sally Roberts - Founder and Executive Director, Wrestle Like a Girl
Sue Rodin - President, Stars & Strategies, Inc. and Founder & Chair Emerita, Women in Sports & Events (WISE)
Maren Rojas - South Shore Select Soccer
Susan Ruff - Director, Cambridge Youth Soccer
Lauren Ruotolo - Creative Content Partnership Lead , Global Content Lab for Johnson & Johnson
Erin Ryder - JAMAA Productions
Zainab Salbi - Founder, Women for Women International
Shawn Schatzle - Associate, Havkins Rosenfeld Ritzert & Varriale, LLP
Jamie Schmill - Director of Research and Impact, Laureus Sport for Good USA
Marianne Schnall - Journalist and Founder of Feminist.com and WhatWillItTake.com
Shannon Schneeman - Executive Director, America Scores NY
Cameron Sinclair - Social Impact Designer
Bex Smith - Global Executive Director of the Women’s Game, Copa90
Vanessa Smith - JAMAA Productions
Fred Sullivan - Executive Director, ManUp
Cynthia Richie Terrell - Founder & Executive Director, RepresentWomen
Kim Turner - Senior Staff Attorney, Fair Play for Girls in Sport project of Legal Aid at Work
Peggy Turner - Adapted Sports Coordinator, TIRR Memorial Hermann
Carla Varriale - Partner, Havkins Rosenfeld Ritzert & Varriale, LLP
Lesley Visser - Sportscaster and Sportswriter
Amanda Vandervort - AFDP Global and Global Goals World Cup Advisor
Nefertiti Walker
Danielle Warby
Bill Weir - Journalist, CNN
Cheryl Whaley
Jamia Wilson - Director, and Publisher, Feminist Press
Women Win
Shelley Zalis - CEO, The Female Quotient
Jacki Zehner - Co-Founder, Women Moving Millions and Former Partner and Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
Eglantina Zingg - Founder, Goleadoras
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Center for Sport, Peace, and Society at the University of Tennessee:
Dr. Sarah J. Hillyer, PhD — Director, University of Tennessee Center for Sport, Peace, and Society
Dr. Carolyn Spellings, PhD — Chief of Evaluation, Research, and Accountability, University of Tennessee Center for Sport, Peace, and Society
Dr. Alicia Malnati, PhD — Chief of Communication and Strategic Partnerships, University of Tennessee Center for Sport, Peace, and Society
Dr. Cherry Brewer, PhD — Program Coordinator, University of Tennessee Center for Sport, Peace, and Society
Morgan Irish-George, Media and Content Manager — University of Tennessee Center for Sport, Peace, and Society
Rainey Johns, Program Assistant — University of Tennessee Center for Sport, Peace, and Society
==
Center for Sport, Peace, and Society International Delegates:
Vibhas Sen, India — Wheelchair fencer and entrepreneur
Alejandra Rodriguez-Larrain, Peru — CEO, Peru Runners
Justin Vijay Jesudas, India — Director of partners and sports, The Spinal Foundation
Shams Aalam, India — Adaptive swimmer and disability rights activist
Anna Cecilia López, Mexico — Gender equality activist
Claudia Contreras, Venezuela — Sports psychologist and rugby coach
Rabia Qadir, Pakistan — CEO, Galaxy Sports Academy and sports journalist
Chipasha Kapela, Zambia — Administrative officer, Zambia Paralympic Committee
Chyloe Kurdas, Australia — National Female Participation Manager, Golf Australia
Iman Sabbagh, Jordan — Physical education teacher, Imam Sadr Foundation
Minjei Jeon, South Korea — Project manager, Korea Olympic Committee
Kamile Sakalauskaité, Lithuania — Head of Projects, Lithuanian Paralympic Committee
Silvija Mitevska, Mitevska — President, TAKT: Together Advancing Common Trust
Maja Ciganovic, Serbia — President, Center for Affirmation of Women in Sport
Adeline Dumapong, Philippines — 5x Paralympian, Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled
Julia Vergueiro, Brazil — Founder and CEO, Pelado Real Futebol Clube
Albina Zakirova, Russia — Founder, Dreamski
Elvira Dushku, Kosovo — Secretary General, FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship
Jameson Ssenkungu, Uganda — Administrator and coach, Uganda Paralympic Committee
Qapela Dlamini, South Africa — Director, NGO “CREATE” for persons with disabilities
Chocho Immaculate, Uganda — Secretary of sport and environment, Kampala City Council Authority
Tegan Onojaife, Nigeria — Sportscaster, producer, and founder of NGO, Ladies in Sports International
Alemayehu Teferi, Ethiopia — Household Surveys and Price Statistics Directorate Directo, Central Statistics Agency of Ethiopia
Majidah Nantanda, Uganda — Head Coach, Ugandan Women’s National Soccer Team
Aline Silva, Brazil — Olympic wrestler and entrepreneur
Hassan Badji, Senegal — Director of Athlete Leadership Programs, Special Olympics Senegal
Agnes Baluka, Uganda — Sports Tutor, Busitema University
Akhona Makalima, South Africa — CEO, Powerhouse Events
Fatma Said Ahmed, Zanzibar, Tanzania — Coaches Across Continents
This letter is being distributed by Equality League, a charitable organization advancing women’s rights by ensuring safe and equal access to sport for women and girls worldwide.