The American women might have won the world cup, but they’re losing the battle against wage inequality writes Mary Pilon:

• Female football players have salary ranges from $6,000-$30,000 which means that some of the players are earning less than the poverty line in the cities they compete in.
• In contrast the men have a salary cap of $3.1 million.
• Women are also unable to make much money from brand endorsements. One American forward earns $92,500 a year after endorsements. Their male counterparts can make millions.
• What makes it particularly unfortunate is that the women’s team seems to be more successful than the men’s, being ranked #1 in the world, compared with #27 for the men.
• While this is all largely because women’s football generates less attention than the men’s game, this maybe a chicken and egg problem. Few people may watch the game because few broadcasters properly advertize it.
• The attention that female tennis players get indicates that there is a market for women’s sports if broadcasters are willing to invest in it.
• The worst comparison is the prize money. When Germany won the men’s World Cup last year they got $35 million. This year’s female winners received $2 million.

Read about how other sports deal with this problem and more over here.

Source: Politico