Soccer Star Megan Rapinoe Clashes With GOP on Equal Pay Day

(Bloomberg Law) -- Soccer star Megan Rapinoe, a mainstay of the U.S. Women’s National Team who has been part of an equal-pay class action since 2017, told House lawmakers Wednesday that women can’t escape inequity in compensation by simply outperforming male counterparts—an argument that prompted some Republicans to question gender gaps broadly.

Rapinoe, who scored in the 2019 World Cup final as the U.S. women’s team won its second consecutive World Cup title, took aim at the need for measures to ensure equal pay during a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

“What we’ve learned and what we continue to learn is that there is no level of status, accomplishments, or power that will protect you from the clutches of inequity,” she told the panel, testifying virtually. “One cannot simply outperform inequality or be excellent enough to escape discrimination of any kind.”

She said the women’s national team has won four World Cup championships on top of four Olympic gold medals, a record that far outshines that of the U.S. Men’s National Team, which has never reached such international heights. And though the women’s team has risen in popularity with its success, its lawsuit claims its members still experience a wide gap in pay compared to players on the men’s team.

“We have filled stadiums, broken viewing records, and sold out jerseys, all popular metrics by which we are judged,” Rapinoe said. “Yet despite all of this, we are still paid less than men—for each trophy, of which there are many, each win, each tie, each time we play.”

She said that if World Cup champions can experience inequity in pay, the same can happen “to every person marginalized by gender.”

Pending Class Action

Democratic lawmakers used the hearing, held on Equal Pay Day, to push a series of proposals designed to close the gender pay gap, as well as measures they said would promote greater equity, including lowering the bar for discrimination lawsuits, bolstering pregnancy accommodations, and creating better child care.

The class action against the United States Soccer Federation, filed by Rapinoe and more than 25 of her teammates, is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which is considering their request to revive the pay bias allegations. A proposed settlement covers the women’s claims of discrimination in other terms and conditions of employment besides pay, including team travel, playing conditions, and professional support.

Rapinoe’s testimony, along with that of experts in gender equality, economics, and workplace issues sparked debate with Republican members. Democrats targeted “systemic inequities,” including the gender pay gap, where women on average earn 82 cents for every dollar paid to White men, Black women 63 cents by comparison, and Latinas only 55 cents.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-N.C.), asked Rapinoe about the collective bargaining agreement the women’s national team players have with the Soccer Federation. That contract took effect in 2017. Mace said women’s team members were paid more in total per game than the men’s squad under that agreement, even if they received smaller bonuses.

Rapinoe countered that Mace’s description was an oversimplification, and said the disparities remained wide between the contracts for male and female national team members. The agreement is up for renegotiation this year.

“The lawsuit will affect the collective bargaining agreement, and looking for a more fair deal that we didn’t get last time,” she said.

‘Apples to Apples’?

Other Republican lawmakers questioned the gender gap, generally, and not just for the female athletes, arguing that the aggregate data showing women make 82 cents on the dollar compared to White men doesn’t show the full picture.

Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), for example, suggested the free market should set salaries and said the gap doesn’t compare “apples to apples.” He said skill and experience levels and the amount of hours worked all contribute to setting salaries.

“Businesses pay for performance, and the cream rises to the top,” Fallon said. “If these alarming disparities exist in actuality, why would businesses not just hire all women?”

Rep. Scott Franklin (R-Fla.) asked Rapinoe about questions conservative lawmakers have raised about transgender female athletes being allowed to compete on women’s sports teams.

The House recently passed the Equality Act, which would expand civil rights laws to include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. The measure is pending in the Senate. Republicans have raised questions about whether that would create an unfair playing field for female athletes.

“As someone who has played sports with someone who is trans,” Rapinoe responded, “nothing is spontaneously combusting.”

“I think that, for me, it would be unfair to continue to marginalize anyone by gender,” she added.

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