Luna Bar Is Closing the Pay Gap for These Female Athletes on Equal Pay Day

Today is Equal Pay Day, the day that symbolizes how far into the new year white women have to work in order to earn what men earned in the previous year (compared to White, non-Latinx men, August 22 is Black Women’s EPD, September 23 is Native Women’s EPD, and November 20 is Latinx Women’s EPD). It’s a dismal reminder that we have a long way to go before women are equally compensated for the work they do, but this year LUNA Bar is trying to make a difference in a unique way.

In 2016, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) banded together to fight for equal pay, since the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team paid their players more money. They had some success in their fight, but to this day when a woman is selected for the World Cup team, their roster bonus is $31,250 less than what male players receive upon signing. Pretty whack, right?

That’s why this year, LUNA Bar is trying to make a difference by closing the gap for the players on the USWNT. They’re going to give each of the 23 players on the USWNT that were signed to the 2019 World Cup team a $31,250 bonus so that their pay is equal with that of the male players.

“It’s ironic that one of the most popular sports in the world is still experiencing pay inequalities between women and men,” Kit Crawford, Cliff Bar company owner and co-CEO said in a press release. (Full disclosure: I’ve met Crawford before, and she’s the real deal: very committed to supporting women in business, the film industry, and athletics).

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Crawford said that closing the pay gap for the USWNT is “what is right, but more importantly, it’s what they deserve.” The LUNA Bar company also pointed out that by being so open and vocal about their fight for equal pay, the USWNT “became advocates, mentors
and role models” for all women who are working towards closing the pay gap.

We still have a long way to go, but LUNA’s grand gesture is just one example of what happens when you have a woman like Crawford in a leadership role: equality becomes a company priority, and steps can actually be made toward a day when women are paid the same as men for doing the same (or in the case of the USWNT, a better!) job.