A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem
Two brave cheerleaders take on the NFL, battling the massive, male-dominated sports league for recognition — and a raise.
The cheerleaders of the National Football League sweat through grueling drills, invest time, and money to stay in top physical condition, and revolve their lives around their sport. They work the gridiron in stadiums packed with tens of thousands of paying fans. Yet most of them earn less than minimum wage — and some as little as $5 an hour. Shining a light on this astounding inequity, A Woman’s Work: The NFL's Cheerleader Problem tells the story of a handful of cheerleaders — among them Oakland Raiderette Lacy and Maria of the Buffalo Jills — who decide that they and their colleagues deserve more. In high-stakes lawsuits and in the harshly divided court of public opinion, these courageous women take a stand, denouncing the NFL’s unfair labor practices and employment contracts riddled with illegal provisions. Risking their careers, Lacy and Maria call out the hypocrisy of a male-dominated sports culture that ignores their demanding feats of athleticism and sees the flesh-baring uniforms they’re required to wear as a reason to keep exploiting them.