Abby Wambach, two-time Olympic gold medalist, FIFA World Cup Champion, and six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, will be the featured speaker at the 110th LMU Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 7.
Wambach enjoyed an unparalleled career as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, tallying more career goals, 184, in international competition than any U.S. player, male or female. After retiring in 2015, she has devoted herself to working for women’s equality, especially by advocating for equal pay for women, and for diversity and inclusion from the boardroom to the workplace. Wambach is the author of three books, including “Wolfpack: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power and Change the Game,” a New York Times bestseller. Unequal treatment of men and women will be one of the themes of Wambach’s Commencement address. She gave an interview to LMU prior to Commencement which can be read in its entirety in a future edition of LMU Magazine. The following are excerpts from that interview.
On equal pay for women professional athletes:
A few weeks ago, our women’s national team was able to come to an agreement and have a settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation for what they’re calling equal pay. There is still more work to do, of course. And progress is not linear. It’s up, and it’s down. This is a win, not just for our women’s national team but for all women. Women everywhere can see this women’s national team, read the headlines, and say, “Whoa, that’s so cool for them.” Then they go home, and they talk to their people, their spouse, their kids, their parents, and to themselves in the mirror, and they start thinking, “I wonder if I can do that? I wonder if that’s even possible for me in my life?”
On the roots of women’s inequality in U.S. society:
In my heart, I don’t believe that human beings are born to be misogynistic. In my heart, I believe we are taught this. What that makes me know is that we can also be untaught some of these things. We can unlearn some of these belief systems. Talking about it, pointing some of the misogyny out, holding people accountable, transparency — all of these things make such a big impact in graduates’ individual lives as they’re going out into the working world.
On the social significance of Angel City Football Club, a majority women-owned pro soccer team based in Los Angeles:
What I hope will continue to be different about Angel City is that it’s owned and operated, majority-wise, by women. This is not a philanthropic adventure for us as women. This is us saying, “We want to be a part of this conversation. We think that we might actually have a solution to some of the huge systemic issues happening inside women’s sports, women’s spaces, women’s teams. We think that if we had more women leading, some of these problems might be far less aggressive and violent.” Also, this is a business, and we want to win. We want to show that women’s leadership isn’t just possible, it’s possible and successful.
On the price of success:
Being really talented at something inherently makes you lonely, because you’re alone on the top of that podium, that pillar, that mountain. I really struggled with that loneliness … but I had to choose: I was either going to be lonely and really good at soccer or I was going to not be good at soccer and I was going to choose a different life. I now know, sadly in my retirement, that those were not the only options. I truly believe now, as a former athlete, that that was preparation for my next phase. It wasn’t just about the soccer. What I did then was incredible, I’m proud of it. But actually what I was doing that for was to prepare for my next adventure, and I’m doing that now.