On January 7th, the winner of the ASB Classic Women’s Tournament will be collecting her prize money of $43,000 USD.

But while we’re sure the win will be a great victory for her. It won’t be a victory for women. Because although it might seem like a lot of money. It’s only half the amount the men’s winner will receive.

With tennis’ biggest female stars on our doorstep and the world watching, we’ve sent the message to our daughters that you can be the best in the world and you’ll still get paid less than a man.

We realise this isn’t a straight-forward request and we acknowledge the complexity of the different organisations and financial models involved.  But this doesn’t excuse that it’s fundamentally wrong.

But this doesn’t excuse that it’s fundamentally wrong. And it doesn’t stop our daughters, and all women across NZ only seeing the headline facts; that women winners are getting paid half that of men for the same job.

And it doesn’t stop our daughters, and all women across NZ only seeing the headline facts; that women winners are getting paid half that of men for the same job.The international tournament owners, the host city and the corporates involved, all have the opportunity to put this right.

The international tournament owners, the host city and the corporates involved, all have the opportunity to put this right.

Help us convince them of this inequity by signing our petition to ask Tennis Auckland and Tennis New Zealand to raise the women’s prize money to match the men’s.

Q&A

Men draw bigger crowds and therefore more money for the organisers so doesn't it makes sense that they would get paid more?

This is not the case here. ASB Classic Tournament Director, Karl Budge stated after the 2016 tournament that “The pulling power and attention has been in favour of the women the last few years." with the women’s event selling out faster and gaining higher TV ratings than the men’s.

To add to this, the highest ranked men’s player in the tournament is Roberto Bautista Agut at No. 14 in the world. Yet Serena Williams, who is not just one of the best women’s tennis players but one of the best athletes in the world, will be playing in the women’s tournament.

Male tennis players play more sets so shouldn't they get paid more for doing more work?

Some people might think they have an argument for the gender pay gap in the Grand Slam tournament where men play best-of-five sets and women play best-of-three. But in the ATP/WTA tour, men and women play the same amount of sets, so in this instance this argument is invalid.

It’s not just about the prize money, don't they also receive appearance fees?

The prize money that an athlete receives is public knowledge. It’s the prize money that we talk about and see. We need to set a standard for every employer and show every girl in New Zealand, and the world, that women are worth just as much as men. In addition to this we would like to point out that not all women tennis players receive appearance fees and in general, women in sport receive lower salaries and less sponsorship money than their male counterparts.

They have lots of money anyway, why should we care?

It’s not about how much she already has. It’s the principle. We need to make sure every woman receives equal pay for equal work no matter who they are.