Kriss Worthington Councilmember, City of Berkeley, District 7 2180 Milvia Street, 5 th Floor, Berkeley, CA 94704 PHONE 510-981-7170, FAX 510-981-7177, EMAIL kworthington@ci.berkeley.ca.us CONSENT CALENDAR September 15, 2015 To: From: Subject: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Councilmember Kriss Worthington Support U.S. House of Representative Resolution 364 Advocating for Equal Pay for Women in Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Sponsored Athletics RECOMMENDATION Support House Resolution 364 and send a letter to U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer requesting support for H.Res. 364 which urge FIFA to eliminate gender pay inequity between women and men in professional soccer. BACKGROUND.According to the Institute for Women s Policy Research, In 2013, female full-time workers made only 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 22 percent. Women, on average, earn less than men in virtually every single occupation Although the U.S women s team surpassed the U.S men s team in TV views, they received a mere $2 million compared to the men s team which received $9 million and didn t even make quarterfinals. 25.4 million people watched the US women s soccer team beat Japan in the World Cup final game, making the game the most watched soccer game in history. Despite the massive viewership, income disparity between women and men s FIFA sponsored events persists at a discriminatory level. Given that the recent victory by the U.S women s soccer team was the most watched soccer match in history, it would be easy to assume that the money allocated to the U.S Women s team would be equal to what the U.S men s team received. However, this is not the case. Berkeley has always stood for equality. H.R. 364 urges FIFA to change its current practice requesting that equal performance and equal work should equate to equal pay. For more information see: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hres364 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: None. ENVIROMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: Consistent with Berkeley s Environmental Sustainability Goals and no negative impact.
CONTACT PERSON Councilmember Kriss Worthington 510-981-7170 Kaili Meier 510-981-7170 Attachment: 1. Letter to Senators Expressing Support for Equal Pay for Women in Athletics at the Professional Level 2. House Resolution 364
Attachment 1 Dear Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Thank you for your dedication and commitment to women s rights. From your work with the passage of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act to your continuous fight for women s overall health, it is truly appreciated. The City of Berkeley requests you to support Resolution H.Res.364 introduced on July 15, 2015 by Congressmembers Jackie Speier and Linda Sánchez advocating for the equal pay and treatment of women in professional soccer. We stand with Congressmembers Speier and Sánchez, along with 33 original co-sponsors who supported this resolution. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) should not only address the economic disparity between men and women soccer players at the professional level, but take the necessary steps to begin to eradicate the immense pay gap that exists even after the U.S women s team garnered more TV views in history for a soccer match. As proposed in H.Res.364, we urge you to encourage FIFA s revision of their policies that pertain to ensuring that the amount of money allocated to the development of women s teams worldwide is equal to their male counterparts. In an article by Huffington Post, it is evident that other professional sports events like Wimbledon have already begun to alleviate gender discrimination. At Wimbledon, the male and female champions played on the same courts, [and] received the same massive paycheck (over $2.9 million each). FIFA should follow by example, and consider modifications to their current policies such as implementing an equal pay policy. This is no longer a matter of women s soccer teams being less popular than the men s teams, as proven by the record breaking 25.4 million views for the U.S. versus Japan final match. FIFA s current lack of investment in professional women s soccer teams can only be described as discrimination when one examines the drastic inequalities that exist between the two genders that are perpetuated by FIFA s policies. According to an article titled, Women s World Cup Exposes FIFA- Organize to Fight Back Rampant Sexism, FIFA spends an estimated $900 million yearly to develop soccer. Of that only about 15% goes to fund programs to help develop programs designed to grow women s soccer. We urge you to stand with Congressmembers Speier and Sánchez, along with countless others, and advocate for equal pay for women s soccer teams playing in FIFA. Inequities still exist between women and men across the workforce, despite women performing the same work. By urging FIFA to implement a gender equity pay policy we are one step closer to ensuring equality for all in the near future. Thank you for your consideration. The Berkeley City Council
Attachment 2 HOUSE RESOLUTION 364 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Fédération Internationale de Football Association should immediately eliminate gender pay inequity and treat all athletes with the same respect and dignity. Whereas the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (referred to in this preamble as FIFA) awarded $576,000,000 to the 32 teams that competed in the 2014 Men's World Cup, but only awarded $15,000,000 to the 24 teams that competed in the 2015 Women's World Cup; Whereas FIFA awarded $35,000,000 to the team that won the 2014 Men's World Cup, but only awarded $2,000,000 to the team that won the 2015 Women s World Cup; Whereas FIFA awarded $6,000,000 more in prizes to each team that lost in the first round of the 2014 Men's World Cup than to the team that won the 2015 Women's World Cup; Whereas FIFA awarded $420,000,000 to the 32 teams that competed in the 2010 Men s World Cup, but only awarded $10,000,000 to the 24 teams that competed in the 2011 Women s World Cup; Whereas FIFA awarded $31,000,000 to the team that won the 2010 Men's World Cup, but only awarded $1,000,000 to the team that won the 2011 Women's World Cup; Whereas the 2015 Women s World Cup Final had more than 25,000,000 viewers in the United States, making it more widely viewed than the Major League Baseball World Series or the National Basketball Association Finals; Whereas the 2015 Women s World Cup highlighted the need to eliminate the existing gender pay disparity in prize award structure in athletic competitions that has persisted for decades; Whereas the unfair and unjust prize award allocation system used by FIFA sends a terrible message to women and girls around the world about the value of their contribution to sports; Whereas, in 2007, Wimbledon finally implemented an equal prize payment structure for all athletes, regardless of gender; and Whereas gender should not determine the amount of a prize award that a person or team receives in an athletic competition: Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives (1) urges the Fédération Internationale de Football Association to immediately eliminate gender pay inequity and to treat all athletes with the respect and dignity those athletes deserve; (2)supports an end to the unfair and unjust practice of gender pay inequity in the workplace, including athletic competitions and related prize awards; (3)urges all other local, State, Federal, and international organizations to eliminate gender pay inequity; and
(4)instructs the Secretary of the House of Representatives to submit a copy of this resolution to the President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association.