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A female professional athlete has to have the whole package, as opposed to a guy who can just be good at sport. You have to have a job or go to uni or do three sports instead of one, you have to be a standout.

There's still prejudice and that resistance regarding women, not only on female football but in various activities. Men think that women are a bit fragile to perform some types of activities or don't have the ability and aren't strong enough.

It's something that can get overwhelming and frustrating, the sexism I experience in my career. It's just obviously a big issue in women's sport, like salaries, media coverage, just general things that you have to cope with in your career.

There's nothing masculine about being competitive. There's nothing masculine about trying to be the best at everything you do, nor is there anything wrong with it. I don't know why a female athlete has to defend her femininity just because she chooses to play sports.

I believe that athletes - especially female athletes in the world's leading sport for women - should serve as role models.

I don't think there's anything that is a greater area of discrimination against women today than the fact that nowhere in the world is there a female role model in team sports that more than half of a general audience would recognize.

Sometimes women get devastated by failing. Athletes don't; they just know that means they've got to practise harder, and they've got to do something else differently.

Gender equality cannot be achieved by cutting programs that allow girls to get the same chance to compete, learn, and play. The United States has had a solid history of commitment to its female athletes and expanding opportunity for women, and it is imperative that we continue on this path.

Equality for men and women, across the world, not only in sports, is the goal. We obviously have a long way to go, but every little bit helps.