In the world of sports, women everywhere are beginning to fight for equal support and compensation, from the U.S. women’s hockey team a few weeks prior to Irish women’s soccer—and we couldn’t be happier to hear of their successes.
A few weeks ago, the Irish women’s soccer team found itself
in a dispute over the FAI’s lack of adequate support and pay for the players. The team alleged these accusations at a press conference.
The Daily Edge noted that “among other things, the team outlined how they weren’t in receipt of loss of earnings and were forced to share their kits with underage teams.”
After involved and tedious negotiations, all parties were satisfied with the final agreement reached last week. The players were able to play in a match on April 10th knowing that they were being justly recognized by their organization.
This comes just a few weeks after the U.S. women’s hockey team found itself locked in a battle with USA Hockey for equal support and compensation from the organization. The hockey team triumphed here as well, partly thanks to the men’s hockey teams that stood with the women during their fight.
At the match on April 10th, Ireland’s women’s team took home another win with a 1-0 victory. The real reward for the players, however, was seeing the sizable population of young girls in the audience holding up messages on their handmade signs.
Closing the pay gap for women in sports is an important issue that even younger fans are beginning to recognize. One sign made by a young girl read: “Because of you, we’ll get equal pay when we grow up.”
Female athletes are not backing down any more when it comes to attaining their rightful and necessary equal recognition. Their wins feel all the more satisfying knowing that thanks to teams like those of Ireland and the U.S., a future of gender equality is becoming more and more likely—and it is approaching faster than ever.
Featured Image by Mrs. Flinger on Flickr
Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
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