Women athletes got a big win last month when the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) won a $24 million dollar legal settlement against the U.S. Soccer Federation for discrimination and unequal pay. The women had won the World Cup in 2019 and made about $250,000 each in prize money. The U.S. Men’s National Team—which did not qualify for the World Cup—would have made a little over $1.1 million each if they had won.

Last month’s landmark legal victory placed women athletes on an equal footing with their male counterparts. But true equality will never be reached unless women in all fields, with men’s support, are willing to finally stand up for themselves and collectively demand equal pay across all professions.

USWNT’s victory comes after decades of work by endless numbers of women to help the public recognize women as equally worthy. One of the most vivid examples was in 1973 when Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs at tennis in the “Battle of the Sexes” in  support of Title IX legislation and women’s equal opportunities in sports. She won a record 20 Wimbledon titles, and led an uprising of underpaid female tennis players to demand fairer treatment and compensation. Fifty-nine million people watched that match on television. Still, the lesson wasn’t learned by those who control the money, and women had to continue to fight for equal pay.

In 2005, Venus Williams pushed Wimbledon and the French Open to offer equal pay to players. Eleven years later in 2015, Serena Williams only got $495,000 compared to  $731,000 for Roger Federer’s Grand Slam Tennis win.

Industries which employ mostly women have been hit the hardest by COVID. Women, particularly women of color, have lost 5.4 million jobs—nearly 1…