USWNT Uses Its Equal Pay Lawsuit as Confetti for World Cup Victory Parade
Because the United States women's national team is nothing short of badass, the team has been living up its victory, but not forgetting what it stands for.
The squad, which has been partying hard since its consecutive Women's World Cup win over the Netherlands on Sunday, was in New York on Wednesday for the team's victory parade and rally.
The fun continued, but there was also a focus on the USWNT's fight for equal pay. Following the team's championship win, "Equal Pay" chants broke out at the stadium in France. Those continued to break out throughout the parade and the rally at City Hall on Wednesday.
Ashlyn Harris, whose Instagram stories have been one of the major highlights in the aftermath of the win, showed that the team was using its equal pay lawsuit as confetti near the rally.
Warning: This video contains explicit language
Players have been vocal about pay disparities and have not been shy about speaking up for gender equality, among other social issues. On March 8, International Women's Day, 28 players brought a gender discrimination lawsuit against U.S. Soccer. The lawsuit came after five players filed a wage-discrimination action against the federation in 2016 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The 2019 lawsuit "effectively ends the EEOC complaint," according to the New York Times.
In its response to the suit, U.S. Soccer said it obeyed the law and did not discriminate against female players.
The World Cup win and players' activism has prompted more action from officials with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin introducing a bill to Congress on Tuesday that would prohibit the use of federal funds for the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. is set to host, until the women's national team receives equal pay to their male counterparts from the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Before the parade on Wednesday, New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed new "Equal Pay for Equal Work" legislation into law.
