Jeffrey Kessler: The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s Fight Goes Beyond Equal Pay

The ongoing pay equity case brought by the U.S. National Women’s Soccer Team is about more than gender equality in sport. Winston & Strawn’s Co-Executive Chairman Jeffrey Kessler recently discussed with Business Leader his thoughts on the significant ramifications the case could bring to businesses across industries around the world.

“It is illegal in the U.S. to pay men and women working for the same employer different salaries for similar work on the basis of gender. Despite this, and the many years that have passed since women began their fight for the right to equal pay, the gender pay gap persists across all levels of the workforce. This case illustrates how legal issues in sports, like in other businesses, can affect the most fundamental rights of the individual. I am fortunate to be able to fight for the rule of law and to promote social justice on behalf of these incredible champion women,” he said.

“I hope not only to achieve pay equity for the team, but that this fight will inspire others to fight for gender equity. This case has captured the attention of the world and I hope the outcome has the potential to change the dialogue about how women are treated not just on the field but in the workplace. It also has the power to expose the steps that society needs to take to ensure that unconscious bias is abolished, so that we can create a world based on gender equality that will make our children and grandchildren proud.”

The case was brought after years of struggle over this issue, as the most successful women’s team in the world continues to make much less than the less successful U.S. men’s team, also employed by the USSF.

Read more about Jeffrey’s fight against the gender pay gap in Business Leader here.