According to The Wall St Journal, the two parties have tentatively agreed to pursue mediation over the claims of pay discrimination following the Women’s World Cup.

“In the midst of the World Cup, following news regarding significant revenue generated by the women players, USSF decided it is time to sit down with the players’ lawyers,” said Molly Levinson, a representative for the players. “We hope their pledge to submit a proposal to solve the ongoing gender disparities is genuine. It would be truly remarkable for these games to mark the beginning of pay equity. The world is watching.”

The dispute over pay inequalities comes amidst new findings that the U.S women’s soccer team’s games actually outearn the men’s team now, even though its players are still being paid drastically less than their male counterparts.

According to audited financial statements obtained by The Wall St Journal, the women’s team’s games generated $50.8 million in revenue from 2016 to 2018 compared to the men’s team’s games which made $49.9 million, with the USWNT earning $1.9 million more than the men’s team in 2016 alone. Tell us again why the women’s team is paid so much less?

Though it’s hard to pinpoint exact wages, the lawsuit argues that if there were 20 friendlies won by the men’s and women’s teams, a women’s soccer player would make just $99,000 compared to a men’s player’s $263,320. That equates to a meagre 38% of a man’s wage for the same job every year.

“Despite the fact that these female and male players are called upon to perform the same job responsibilities on their teams and participate in international competitions for their single common employer, the USSF, the female players have been consistently paid less money than their male counterparts,” the lawsuit stated. “This is true even though their performance has been superior to that of the male players — with the female players, in contrast to male players, becoming world champions.”

For some time, the U.S Soccer Federation have argued that the revenue generated by the men’s teams is far greater than the women’s team, which accounts for the pay disparity. Bafflingly, they also argue that the women’s team “receive fundamentally different pay structures for performing different work under their separate collective bargaining agreements that require different obligations and responsibilities.” That essentially means that male players are contractors, while female players receive a set salary, even though they’re playing the same game.

As the USWNT’s winning streak continues, could equal pay finally be in sight?