April 11th is #EqualPayDay, which symbolizes the date that when looked at as days in a year women have to work to be paid the same amount for the same work men were paid for in the previous calendar year.
It truly sucks that this is even a thing. April 11th people!
Recently, our Harvard Women’s soccer alumni crew got together to cheer on the USWNT, and got a bonus surprise that inspired one of my favorite Soccer Sisters, Susie Petruccelli to share her latest and amazing project! Read on!
By Susie Petruccelli (@Sooozie)
Last month, the USWNT invited the gold medal-winning, equity pay-fighting US Women’s Ice Hockey Team to the SheBelieves Cup at Red Bull Stadium. Suddenly they were all around us! I’d never seen an Olympic gold medal in person before and was overwhelmed to be surrounded by them hanging around the necks of so many vibrant young female American athletes. They let the kids hold them, too!
I was struck by how much both these teams represent to me and so many girls and women like me. Of course, they are athletes. They are our players, our teams. But they have become so much more: they are our also our representatives and our voices. The women of both of these teams are activists demanding equality from their respective federations. They may play totally different sports, but on this front they are one team. And, I realized, so are we.
What’s also clear is that in taking on roles as activists, they are being judged on more than their sports performances. They are going to be both applauded and criticized in the socio-political arena. And we all know that can be a scary place!
My next thought was how can I support them? How can we all?
I can do a better job of watching more of their games.
I can do a better job of educating my children about the amazing things they’ve done in sports and for society.
I can definitely do a better job of supporting them on social media.
Can I do more?
Yes, I can. I decided to take it one step further. I have joined forces with amazing Kely Nascimento-Deluca, daughter of the one and only Pele, and soccer icon Julie Foudy to produce a documentary about women’s soccer and inequality around the world. It’s called the Warrior Women of Football. Check it out. Support it.
These young women have taken the reigns. But it’s time to let them know; we too, are on their team.
