Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Connecticut voters approved early voting. Here’s how their new secretary of state wants to make it happen.

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 13
      • Women lawmakers in Minnesota are in the vanguard of the democracy movement

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 3
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Military
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

US soccer player Megan Rapinoe (R) speaks, flanked by US President Joe Biden (L) and First Lady Jill Biden during an Equal Pay Day event.
U.S. soccer player Megan Rapinoe, with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, speaks at an Equal Pay Day event at the White House on March 24. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Politics

U.S. women’s soccer players join Equal Pay Day conversations at White House

First Lady Jill Biden spoke about learning she was paid less than a man hired at the same time, and the president signed a proclamation. 

Errin Haines

Editor-at-large

Errin Haines portrait

Published

2021-03-24 10:54
10:54
March 24, 2021
am

Updated

2021-03-24 16:18:56.000000

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden joined current and former members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team on Wednesday to mark Equal Pay Day.

The event is part of the administration’s efforts to highlight the overall gender disparity in pay for women. Equal Pay Day marks how long women have to work to catch up with the pay earned by White men the previous year; currently women make about 82 cents on every dollar for a White man. The disparities are worse for many women of color.

Jill Biden spoke about her outrage at learning at a young teacher in her first job in 1975 that she was being paid only 75 percent as much as a man hired at the same time. She said the issue of equal pay is personal to her, and to all women.

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

“It wasn’t just about the money,” Jill Biden said. “It was the lack of respect. Why was my work worth less?”

Soccer players Megan Rapinoe and Margaret Purce joined the Bidens at the White House for Wednesday’s afternoon event.

Rapinoe said that despite her multiple World Cup and Olympic gold medal wins, “I’ve been devalued, I’ve been dismissed, I’ve been disrespected because I am a woman.”

Stories by experienced reporters you can trust and relate to.

Delivered directly to your inbox every weekday.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

“I’m still paid less than men who do the same job I do,” Rapinoe said. “Beyond the cheers and the gestures, there is so much real work to be done.”

Rapinoe introduced President Joe Biden, who talked about how women have been hit harder by the pandemic and touted measures in the American Rescue Plan. He also praised the U.S. women’s soccer team players.

“This team is living proof that you can be the very best at what you do and still have to fight for equal pay,” Biden said.

Biden signed a proclamation on the racial and gendered factors that contribute to the pay inequality exacerbated by the pandemic. He also urged Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, according to administration officials.

Read more on Equal Pay Day

  • It’s Equal Pay Day. Here’s why the day still exists, and how the pandemic is making it worse.
  • ‘I asked to be paid fairly and I was fired’: Pay gap stories from 19th readers on Equal Pay Day

Rapinoe also testified before Congress on Wednesday morning on the issue of equal pay. The Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion has been outspoken against pay inequity in the sport and across society. 

“We’ve filled stadiums, we’ve broken viewing records, we’ve sold out our jerseys, all the popular metrics by which we are judged” Rapinoe told a House committee. “And yet despite all of this, we are still paid less than our male counterparts — for each trophy, or which there are many, for each win, for each tie, for each time we play: less. … If it can happen to us, it can happen to me to me, with the brightest lights shining on us at all times — it can, and it does, happen to every person who is marginalized by gender. But we don’t have to wait. We don’t have to continue to be patient for decades on end. We can change that today. We can change that right now. We just have to want to.”

Vice President Kamala Harris and Cecilia Rouse, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, held a roundtable discussion with women leaders, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will convened a listening session on gender equity in the workplace in St. Louis as part of his efforts to sell the American Rescue Plan to voters.

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

Up Next

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during the Democratic Womens Caucus press conference.

Business & Economy

It’s Equal Pay Day. Here’s why the day still exists, and how the pandemic is making it worse.

Women make 82 cents for every $1 earned by White men. Occupational segregation, a child care crisis and lack of pay transparency keep women at a disadvantage.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram