Equal Pay for Equal Work

A story I heard last week left me so mystified I found myself checking the calendar. I wanted to make sure this was really the 21st century and the year was really 2007. It was hard to tell from the story I read.

The article came from the sports pages oddly enough and it had to do with Wimbledon and the pay received for men and women. Just last week, the classy folks at Wimbledon finally decided to give the same amount of prize money to the women's and men's champion.

Gee and it only took them, what, 30+ years?

According to several news reports, Wimbledon blazed the trail for Open tennis in 1968 and began the practice of paying women less money from the very beginning. Sure, over the years the gap between the genders has narrowed but get real, why was there a gap in the first place?

Three-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams said it best, "I am disappointed that the home of tennis is sending a message to women across the world that we are inferior," Williams said. Amen to that!

And so after stinging words from Williams and heavy lobbying from Tennis legends like Billie Jean King and Chris Evert, along with British politicians who voiced their concerns about the practice, Wimbledon finally caved in.

It's ridiculous that in 2007 it takes lobbying, pressure and well, down right embarrassment to get an establishment like Wimbledon to treat men and women equally. Wimbledon should have been a leader in such a forum. And Venus is right, the message you send is that women aren't as important, that their contribution to the sport is somehow worth less than a man's. How do you think that makes young girls feel - girls who are already grappling with self-image and self-esteem issues?

It isn't just about the prize money. Unequal pay is like saying as a woman, you just aren't as valued or needed. Believe me, there are a lot of tasks that would go undone were it not for women. Besides, how can you justify paying a woman less to do the exact same thing the man making more is doing. I mean, do they swing the racket differently or something?

I hope that women and men will read one of the many articles written about the Wimbledon equalized pay issue to their daughters, nieces and granddaughters. I hope they will explain the deeper meaning. It shows that even in 2007, when we've come so far, we still have a very long way to go, and while I am happy for the progress, as a woman, it still makes me sad.