60 minutes rewind few teams have been as glorious on the soccer field as the united states women's
national team they've won three world cups four olympic gold medals and set the standard in the
most popular sport on the planet but despite their achievements the players say they have
been discriminated against paid less and treated worse next to the u.s men's team
soccer may be known as the beautiful game but the team has embarked on a bruising and historic
legal fight for equality and their opponent is the u.s soccer federation their own employer
for the players it's the match of their lives they hope a victory will help close the gap not just in
sport but in any job where women do the same work as men for less pay we feel like we're treated
like second class citizens because they don't care as much about us as they do the men will try alone
carly lloyd is considered the best female soccer player in the world and captains the u.s team
we recently spoke to her co-captain becky sauerbrunn and their teammates kristin press and
morgan bryan there's a long history of athletes battling their employers for more pay it happens
in the nba it happens in the nfl what's different about this fight this is a social movement i think
this is about gender discrimination and i don't think that positive change occurs in the world
unless it has to how does this fight rank in some of the competitions you've been in it's the fight
you know i mean we have been in some some major some major battles on the field but this is this
could be the fight that we are a part of skill jack the team is made up of the best female
soccer players from around the country and for 25 years they've ruled the world in 1999 when brandy
chastain scored to beat china in the finals of the world cup her celebration announced the beginning
of a new era in women's sports for the 2015 final an estimated 30 million people watched on tv in
the u.s as carly lloyd's three goals sealed a huge win against japan it was and remains the highest
rated soccer match in american history including games played by the u.s men we're america's dream
team and we've been at the forefront we've been at the top and i think the number one team in women's
sports history how has u.s soccer federation helped you guys make it to where you are when
you compare this federation to all the other federations across the globe they have invested
the most money in this women's program they have and that's why we've gotten as far as we have but
to be paid equally you know it's it's not about what they think it's fair it's it's what is fair
after their 2015 world cup triumph the team was honored with the parade down new york city's
canyon of heroes but behind the ticker tape their relationship with u.s soccer was breaking down
over a new contract outspoken goalkeeper hope solo was on the team for 19 years time and time again
we asked that we wanted to be paid equally to the men and i'll never you've been asking for that for
many years yeah we have we have every time you brought up the men it pissed them off it annoyed
them and they'd say don't bring up the men don't bring it up globally men's soccer is undeniably
more popular and profitable than the women's game when germany won the world cup in 2014 fifa the
sports international governing body awarded them 35 million dollars a year later when the u.s women
won the cup the u.s soccer federation received two million dollars men also make major league
salaries playing for brand name club teams women's pro clubs have struggled financially
so the women say they rely on their national team income to pay their bills unlike the men
how are they paid differently there's two different pay structures the men get paid
per game whether they win or lose they get paid the women were on a salary based
contract it's a pay structure the women themselves wanted and agreed to in 2005 and again in 2013
a consistent salary of up to seventy two thousand dollars a year and bonuses for wins of one
thousand three hundred and fifty dollars they also get health insurance and maternity leave
the men enjoy no guaranteed salary and fewer personal benefits
but they can make as much as seventeen thousand six hundred and twenty five dollars for a win
we wanted to compare two of the top players salaries vary but in 2015 hope solo was paid
about 366 000 in total by u.s soccer in 2014 also a world cup year for the men team usa goalkeeper
tim howard was paid hundred and ninety eight thousand four hundred and ninety five dollars
she played in 23 games for the u.s he played in eight when you break it down per game i think it's
about three times as much two years ago hope solo convinced the team to hire lawyer rich nichols
to try to get them a better contract i said look you are in control this is your business you have
to take control of it and you can be in control of it but you have to be unified you got to get a
new deal what kind of deal would the women accept equal equal pay well what does equal mean you want
the same agreement the men have we want the same money that the men are making exactly that's 5 000
minimum that's that eight thousand dollar bonus if you tie a game in the 17 625 if you win
we want equal money we have to win and perform in order to even make 1 350. you're professional
women you sign this deal you look back and say why did i agree to that deal or a little bit but
it's also when it comes down to it we just kind of had to be like oh you're just going to say
no to everything that we're putting on the table we didn't know how to fight and and in which ways
we could fight do you think you should be paid more than the men's team yeah absolutely why
we win we're successful should get what we deserve last year the top female players did make more
money from u.s soccer than the men's team but their lawyer rich nichols says that's only because
they played and won more games than the men when you subtract the bonus money that that these women
made in 2015 you know they're probably making 72 80 000 a piece so you mean had they not been
winning they would not have made anywhere close to what the men made that's right despite being
upset at last summer's olympics the women are still number one in the world according to fifa
they say their fight is only with u.s soccer not with the u.s men's team who are ranked a
respectable if unspectacular 24th in the world the story will continue after this
this team taught all america's children that playing like a girl means you're a badass
on stage at the white house in october 2015 they were national heroes celebrating their
latest world cup win back on the job they were disgruntled workers whose negotiations with u.s
soccer had ground to a halt and grown increasingly bitter the women decided to change tactics enter
the federal agency known as the eeoc or the equal employment opportunity commission why
file this suit with the eeoc we wanted to put pressure on them and so with the eeoc complaint
it seemed like a no-brainer for us their complaint accuses u.s soccer of violating the equal pay act
and title vii which protects employees against discrimination based on sex the commission has the
power to award damages issue the right for workers to sue or do nothing at all this has never been
done before no not by professional athletes no why is this case so different because it's there's
never been a situation where the same employers it has hired men and women to play the same sport
under the same working conditions like the wnba and the nba are two separate organizations correct
same employer same job same work conditions same everything the federation's lawyers responded to
the eeoc complaint by saying any differences in the compensation paid men and women players
are driven by factors other than gender major factors according to u.s soccer are revenue and tv
ratings they say men's games on channels like espn average audiences four times larger than the women
but the federation sells both teams to broadcasters and sponsors as one entity
this year for about 45 million dollars the president of u.s soccer is sunil gallati
he teaches economics at columbia university we requested an interview with mr golotti
but he declined in a statement the federation said they are actively working to reach a new agreement
with the women's team they're looking backwards you know we're looking to go forwards from
now and on and we've shown and they've projected in their own financials that we are going to make
them money so it's i think unfair to pay us less based on performances in the past
thank you thank you according to u.s soccer's own projections for this year the women will
net about 5 million dollars from ticket sales while the men will lose about a million dollars
but it turns out this labor dispute is about more than just money 60 minutes has learned the eeoc
is also asking questions about the differences between the men and women
when it comes to playing conditions equipment and travel how do the women travel to games
well we fly and coach the men though is part of their agreement fly first class yes to be
able to perform like we do and to be the best in the world we should be treated the same as them
we were curious what this fight means to a younger generation of female soccer players
asia horn annaleigh schwartz sarah sullivan and joelle kelly told us they closely follow the
women's national team on social media they play for marymount an all-girls school in manhattan
and for local soccer clubs where they've also noticed differences in how the male
and female teams are treated the boys teams would get more field time than the girls teams
we would have to share space with other age groups while the boys would have full field
so joelle given what the disparities that you've noticed and what you're witnessing the
u.s women's soccer team do what's the lesson that you learn from that what they're doing is for us
so we can have that equal pay and that so that we can be on the same level as men
the women's contract with u.s soccer expires this coming new year's eve
whether or not the eeoc decides in their favor they say they'll remain focused on their goal with
all options on the table if you don't get a ruling from the eeoc if you don't get what you want from
the soccer federation will you go on strike it would be a discussion that we would have to have
there's a possibility that they may strike if they don't get equal pay would you support that yes why
because nothing's going to change if they don't stand up for what they want they're never going
to get it would you like to meet some women on the u.s women's soccer team yes hello hey hi how are
you doing charlotte i'm becky it's great holy [ __ ] hi morgan are you crying it's great to meet you
what does it mean to meet these guys the world
is shaving this is history making what we're doing what we're fighting for it not only resonates with
this team and with generations to come but it's global as well carly you keep saying you're united
how far are you going to take this until we get what we want