It is a known problem that women are still being paid less than men while working the same jobs. In order to stand up against this known issue, the U.S. women’s soccer team has taken it upon themselves to finally do something about it.

Five members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team, including Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan have recently filed a wage-discrimination action against the U.S. Soccer Federation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

However, this is not only a problem in the sports industry. Women all over the country are being paid less than men and this issue has raised great awareness towards wage equality in other professions like teaching.

If all individuals are essentially doing the same work, then shouldn’t all individuals be paid the same amount? This distinction between genders is not fair and should be fixed immediatly.

The women’s soccer team earned $2 million for their 2015 World Cup win that was shared between the organization and the players while the men received $9 million for losing their 2014 World Cup. That’s right, losing.

The fact that the women’s national team won the World Cup final last year and still got paid less than the men is absurd. It was the most watched soccer match in American history!

Germany, the winning team in the 2014 World Cup, was given $35 million.

Solo protested that the men get paid more to just show up than the girls get paid to win major championships.

In addition, last year the women produced almost $20 million more in revenue than the men’s team, but continue to be given earnings that are far less than theirs.

Because women of the national soccer team have such great recognition in the country, they are rightfully using their popularity to gain more support towards the need for equal pay and women’s rights.

They brought public attention to the fact that the women’s team is being paid a quarter of what the U.S. men’s soccer team earns.

“We continue to be told we should be grateful just to have the opportunity to play professional soccer,” Hope Solo said in an interview on NBC’s Today Show. “And to get paid for doing it.”

This highlights exactly how many people try to put off the idea of inequality among men and women today.

Just like the women’s soccer team, numerous females today are told to stop attempting to stand up for their rights, deal with what they get and be happy about the opportunities they do have even if they may not be fair.

After the filing, U.S. soccer responded by saying that they were disappointed in the issue taking place.

This furthers the idea that people are not encouraging equality, but rather getting annoyed with those who are strong enough to speak their minds in an effort to make a change.

“Every single day, we sacrifice just as much as the men,” Alex Morgan said. “We work just as much.”

All these girls want is to be appreciated and respected as equally as the guys. All women deserve that.

Gender inequality should not be present in this modern time– it needs to be a thing of the past already and it should not be this hard.

“In this day and age, it’s about equality,” Solo said. “It’s about equal rights. It’s about equal pay.”