World Cup Champion Megan Rapinoe says companies should see that paying men and women equally is ultimately good for the bottom line.
"Investing in women is a good business decision," she told the audience at last week's celebration of the 2019 CNBC Disruptor 50 List in San Francisco.
Rapinoe was joined on stage by Wasserman Chairman & CEO Casey Wasserman, whose powerhouse agency represents Rapinoe and more than 100 other high-profile female athletes. Rapinoe and Wasserman discussed the U.S. Women's National Team's ongoing fight for equal pay, authenticity on social media, politics and other topics with CNBC's Julia Boorstin.
"It's not just social impact," Rapinoe went on to say. "It's not just the right thing to do. While it is all of that, it's also an opportunity to make money."
Much of the team's equal pay battle has been waged on social media, which Rapinoe admits she probably thinks about "too much." But she called it "an incredible tool. Especially for ... female athletes who don't always have the platform or the money or the stage."
Her key to success on social media, a thought reiterated by Wasserman, is to be authentic.
"I don't walk the line," Rapinoe said.
"I agree with Megan," Wasserman added. "You can't walk the line. ...I want our athletes to be authentic, because inauthenticity is the worst thing."
That message likely resonated with the audience in the room at the Disruptor 50 Celebration, which included executives and investors from more than twenty past and present CNBC Disruptor 50 companies.
Watch the full panel discussion here:
Read more about the trends that stand out from the 2019 Disruptor 50 List and the methodology used to select this year's companies.
