US Women’s National Soccer Team Joins Forces With Time’s Up for Equal Pay

The United States women’s national team just won the World Cup, and now they are turning their attention to another battle.

According to TheWrap, the USWNT will be pairing with the organization Time’s Up in order to fight for equal pay for women in the workplace. Over the next 18 months, the two organization will look to create a fundraising campaign that supports three goals: creating cultural moments to move public opinion, coaching companies to pay and treat their employees equally, and advocating for federal and state policies that are against discrimination.

Through this partnership with key figures such as Natalie Portman, Jessica Chastain, Brie Larson, and America Ferrara, the USWNT will help fight for pay equity across multiple industries. This battle won’t be limited to entertainment and sports.

“Particularly once they won the World Cup, [the players] wanted to make this fight for equal pay not only about them, not only about soccer but about the entire system,” Time’s Up chief policy and strategy officer Klein said in an interview with TheWrap. “Time’s Up really was founded on very much of the same spirit. We really felt that … the time was past, and that we refuse to wait any longer to end gender inequality and to ensure safe, fair, and dignified work for women of all kinds.”

This move comes as mediation with US Soccer looms. On March 8, 28 players filed a complaint in the US District Court in Los Angeles, asserting that US Soccer practices gender-based pay-discrimination in their national team programs. According to Forbes, the players allege that US Soccer has violated the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

However, the United States Soccer Federation recently released a statement claiming that the players on the USWNT were actually paid more than their male counterparts.

That being said, this new partnership will not affect the current legal battle between the USNWT and US Soccer. Time’s Up will not be involved in the national team’s lawsuit and will instead focus on the larger battle for equal pay.

For example, the focus of Time’s Up will be on creating “convenings” where women affected by pay inequity would be able to share their stories through both in-person and online events. These convenings are still being planned, but Klein did tell TheWrap that the online component could manifest in a video featuring figures from the entertainment industry, the sports industry, and workers in low-wage jobs having a conversation about the effects of pay inequity.