U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone Named Recipient of Women Business Collaborative’s Trailblazer in Gender Equity and Diversity Award
Cone Recognized for Obtaining Equal Pay and Breaking Boundaries for Women
CHICAGO (September 21, 2023) – U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone has been named a recipient of the Women Business Collaborative (WBC) Trailblazer in Gender Equity and Diversity award, which recognizes individual leaders who have implemented innovative change within their own communities and far beyond.
Cone’s recognition comes for her work and leadership toward the historic achievement of Equal Pay between the U.S. Women’s and Men’s National Teams through identical economic terms that included identical compensation for all competitions, including the FIFA World Cup, and the introduction of the same commercial revenue sharing mechanism for both teams.
The agreements ensured that U.S. Soccer’s senior National Team players remain among the highest paid in the world and made U.S. Soccer the first federation in the world to equalize FIFA World Cup prize money for the Women’s and Men’s National Teams, setting the global standard moving forward.
As U.S. Soccer’s first-ever female President, Cone has worked to break down barriers for women across the soccer ecosystem and beyond while prioritizing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). U.S. Soccer recently announced five key strategic pillars and DEIB is an important component in inspiring and impacting millions of players, coaches, referees and fans of all ages.
The full list of WBC Trailblazer in Gender Equity and Diversity Award recipients is:
- Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President, American University
- Cindy Parlow Cone, President, U.S. Soccer
- Cynt Marshall, Chief Executive Officer, Dallas Mavericks
- John W. Rogers, Jr., Founder, Chairman, Co-CEO & Chief Investment Officer, Ariel Investments
- Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President and CEO, SHRM
The Women Business Collaborative is an alliance of business women’s organizations working together to achieve equal position, pay and power for all women in business. We are a social movement consisting of millions of diverse, professional women and men, business organizations, public and private companies and the media leveraging the power of collaboration to accelerate change.