Secret deodorant gives US women's soccer $529K to help end gender pay gap

Victor Ren
vren@statesman.com
U.S. women's soccer team players Carli Lloyd, second from left, and Alex Morgan, second from right, celebrate with teammates in a parade along the Canyon of Heroes, Wednesday, July 10, 2019, in New York. The U.S. national team beat the Netherlands 2-0 to capture a record fourth Women's World Cup title. Wednesday, July 10, 2019.

A sponsor of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, Secret, is giving the World Cup champions a bonus to help fight for equal pay.

The deodorant company is contributing $529,000 to the USWNT, according to a tweet on Sunday. This divides into $23,000 for each of the 23 players on the team.

We’re taking action to help close the@USWNT gender pay gap by giving $529K ($23k x 23 players) to the@USWNTPlayers.#WeSeeEqual#EqualPay#PayThem#USWNT#USWNTPA#DontSweatFairPay#ASNSpic.twitter.com/g9Mf5zOtgb

— Secret Deodorant (@SecretDeodorant)July 14, 2019

“Women just made history. But they have always deserved equal pay,” Secret wrote in their tweet. 

The company also printed a full page ad in the New York Times on Sunday to broadcast their message. 

Members of the USWNT have responded by thanking Secret and highlighting their efforts towards erasing the gender pay gap. 

A lot of brands talk but Secret walks the walk. Thank you for this, and for being such a great partner.https://t.co/Ys9NgxXoRh

— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13)July 15, 2019

Thank you@SecretDeodoranthttps://t.co/gdw8GhUXvs

— Jessica McDonald (@J_Mac1422)July 14, 2019

Players of the USWNT have recently reignited conversations about pay equity between genders.

Prior to the World Cup, the USWNT sued the U.S. Soccer Federation in March for alleged gender discrimination, according to a report from CNN. The lawsuit claimed that the women’s team made less money for equal work in comparison to the men’s team, while the women’s team is denied equal playing and travel conditions, promotions, development and support.

According to an article from The Guardian, a player on the women’s national team would receive earnings of around $260,000 for winning the World Cup, while a player on the men’s team could receive more than $1 million for winning the tournament.