Former First Lady Michelle Obama spoke out in favor of equal pay in women’s sports on Monday, becoming the latest in a growing group of prominent voices campaigning to close the pay gap between male and female athletes.
Marking the 50th anniversary of equal prize money at the US Open, Obama told the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium that there are “far too many tournaments where women are still required to get equal prize money.”
Obama also honored Billie Jean King, the 79-year-old tennis legend who has long campaigned for the US Tennis Association and its sponsors to ensure equal prize money. The 1972 US Open champion joined forces with her female athletes and threatened to boycott the tournament the following year unless women were paid the same wages as men.
In 1973, the US Open became the first sporting event to offer male and female players the same prize money—$25,000. It would be 34 years before all other Grand Slam tournaments followed suit. This year, the singles champions will earn $3 million.
“Billie Jean had a choice. “She could put her head down, keep winning tournament after tournament and just take any check that was given to her,” Obama said. “Or she could pocket deep and break serve, she could hold her own.”
Jason DeCrow via Associated Press
Equal pay in sport has been a major topic of conversation in recent years. While the US women’s national team has won four World Cups, making it the most successful team in international women’s soccer, the men’s team has won zero.
But while FIFA previously pledged half of the Women’s World Cup’s total prize money fund of $110 million would be paid out to the players Across the 32 teams — more than triple the funds for the 2019 tournament — the organization’s president now says he can’t guarantee players will see that money. Meanwhile, FIFA paid $440 million to the men who took part in the World Cup last year.
In tennis, the Women’s Tennis Association drew up a plan in June to distribute equal prize money for certain events until 2027 and for all tournaments until 2033.
This month Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff won the men and women Individual championships at the Western & Southern Open in Ohio. Djokovic earned just over $1 million while Gauff earned $454,500. A week ago, Jannik sinner and Jessica Pegula won their tournaments at the National Bank Open in Canada and received the same salary as Djokovic and Gauff, respectively.
“Let’s remember that this is all much more than a champion’s paycheck — it’s about how women are seen and valued in this world,” Obama said. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen how quickly progress like this can be undone if we’re not mindful and vigilant, if we don’t constantly remember, advocate, organize, speak up and, yes, vote.”
