In an effort to help close the pay gap between the genders on the U.S. national soccer teams, Procter & Gamble announced it would donate $529,000 to the women’s side following its World Cup victory, The Hill has reported.
Procter & Gamble, which supports American national team soccer through its Secret deodorant brand, took out a full-page ad in the Sunday New York Times urging the U.S. Soccer Federation to “be on the right side of history.”
Following its win, the team reignited a national debate about gender pay inequality. The players already had filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation in March, accusing the organization of “institutionalized gender discrimination” not only in pay but also in conditions.
Each player on the women's national team could reportedly receive about $260,000 in maximum earnings for winning the World Cup, while each player on the U.S. men's national team could have earned almost $1 million if it had won, according to The Guardian.
The two sides reportedly reached a tentative agreement last month, and strips of the lawsuit were used as confetti in the team’s recent ticker-tape parade in New York City, The Hill reported.
The Procter & Gamble advertisement added that “we proudly stand up and give the number 23 a new meaning,” the ad states. “We are doing our part to help close the pay gap by giving the Players Association over half a million dollars - $529,000 to be exact - the equivalent of $23,000 for each of the 23 players” on the winning team.
Several members of the women’s team thanked the sponsor for the donation.
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