#EqualPay Jersey Info

ORDER YOUR JERSEYS AT EQUALPAYJERSEYS.COM The Burlington High School girls soccer team is working on a project to raise awareness about the gender wage gap and would love your support. We were inspired by the U.S. Soccer Women's National Team’s efforts to achieve equal pay for equal work, and have teamed up with Change The Story, an initiative of the Vermont Women’s Fund, Vermont Works for Women, and the Vermont Commission on Women, to create a special run of Nike dry fit jerseys with #EqualPay on the front, the BHS Seahorse logo on one sleeve and Change The Story on the other. There are a number of ways to support this effort:  - Pre-order a shirt at equalpayjerseys.com, and wear it in the community! - Become a sponsor (no amount too small) to defray the cost of jerseys for BHS players (contact Lydia Sheeser at sheeserl@bsdvt.org.) - Give the effort a shoutout on your social media:  FB/Insta: @burlingtongirlssoccer; @ChangeTheStoryVT  Twitter: @ChangeStoryVT The cost of each jersey will be $25 -- men are invited to add an additional 16% (or $4.80) to represent evening out the wage gap. From Varsity Girls Soccer team member Lydia Sheeser: “The idea is to wear these jerseys at a game, or event, and invite the community to come out and buy the shirts, and wear them in support of our fight for gender equality. We are looking for local businesses to sponsor these jerseys, and make a donation to our cause. We partnered with Change The Story VT, an initiative to advance women’s economic status in Vermont. CTS conducted research on the status of women statewide, and we want to share a few of the statistics we found most shocking: - Women in VT make 84 cents to every dollar men make, translating into a 16 cent wage gap. For women of color, the wage gap is much larger. - The wage gap has lasting impacts. Women in VT draw half the social security benefits that men do. - The wage gap translated into annual income: means women make $8000 less a year than men do. For a family of four, $8000 could buy 25 weeks of groceries, or 6 weeks of childcare for two children. We are starting small, and we are hoping this will continue into a movement across VT. We’ve invited the BHS boys soccer team to participate with us, as well as other BHS students and we are opening this opportunity up to students across Vermont, and the community at large. We hope to be able to showcase the jerseys at a game under the lights in October inviting players, parents and coaches from Greater Burlington Girls Soccer League (GBGSL) to join us in the stands. THANK YOU!"