Women continue to fight for equal pay: from football

As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we are reminded of the work that still needs to be done when it comes to equal pay and the gender pay gap. It’s 2023 and women are still fighting to be paid fairly across all industries. Sports is one industry with a massive gender pay gap. Between contract salaries, prize money, endorsement opportunities, and sponsorships, female athletes earn millions less than their male counterparts.

Last month, The Canadian Soccer Players Association (CSPA) has spoken out social media to advertise Members of Canada’s women’s national team have gone on strike over significant budget cuts, lack of support and unequal pay. Canada’s women’s national team has been negotiating with Canada Soccer for over a year and is now being told to “prepare to perform at a world-class level without the same level of support that the men’s national team receives in 2022.” The strike itself was short-lived as the next day, CSGA announced it would be pulling out. said they would resume training because they “cannot afford the risks that personal action by Canada Soccer against us could create.”

However, the Canadian women’s soccer team is still not backing down. They are protesting by wearing purple, a color that has historically associated with efforts to achieve gender equalityinside-out jerseys and unbranded gear. They’ve also received support from the Canadian men’s national team and the U.S. women’s national team, who fought for pay parity within their own leagues last year by signing an agreement through 2028 that sets a standard for equal pay through “identical economic conditions.”

This is just one aspect of the ongoing fight for equal pay. It must be acknowledged that there is also a significant wage gap between white women and women of color. Even in the adult entertainment industry, where women typically earn more than their male counterparts, women of color are paid disproportionately less.

A question close to Bellesa’s heart is Ethical Porn, who strives to honor consent, treat artists with respect and pay everyone fairly. Fortunately, there are a growing number of content outlets that are taking responsibility to create and showcase content produced by consenting people of all shapes, colors, and sizes, who are fairly compensated.

As the adult entertainment industry moves toward equal pay for women and men, we hope it can serve as an example and that equal pay will continue in other industries. Closing the gender pay gap is critical, but it must include all women. As Marsha P. Johnson said, “You never have your full rights, one person, until you have all your rights.” As women, we will not truly have pay parity until we all have pay parity.

On this International Women’s Day, we stand with all women fighting for equal pay and encourage the #EmbraceEquity movement to continue even after March.