Equal pay should not be a conversation, it should just be happening ”: Australian Open Boss Craig Tiley By Lachlan Wills
Australian Open boss Craig Tiley says people must walk the walk on gender pay equality, and treatment of women.
Tennis Australia mandated equal prize money for men and women back in 2001, second only behind the US Open.
“I’ve always challenged people in this space, that you really can only talk about equality if you are putting your money where your mouth is, if you are paying” Tiley told The Ministry of Sport Podcast.
Tiley says it’s not about time on court, it’s about value delivered to the sport.
“The effort that a woman puts into a sporting event or an activity, is the same as the effort a man puts into a sporting event or an activity, and there shouldn’t be a difference as to what they are rewarded.
“And so that’s just kind of a logical position for me. And a very important values one for us.
“I stepped into an organisation that was already paying prize money equal for men and women.
“There was a lot of (external) argument, ‘Men play five sets, women play three sets’. It’s not about the amount of time you spend on the job, it’s about the value that you provide to the environment, and that’s what’s often missing.”
Tiley says Tennis Australia has put processes in place to create broader pay equality, and increase opportunity.
“We’ve gone on a journey since 2006, to make sure that there is no pay gap across the board, to make sure there is equal opportunity- and there wasn’t at the beginning- for the women’s national team versus the men’s national team, and to make sure if there’s a dollar, they are both sharing it equally.
“And to give more women and girls and opportunity. Because it’s not natural for them just to step in to picking up a tennis racquet and go and have a hit, when there’s been an historic environment where there’s a divide.
“The same thing when applying for jobs. If you put a job out there, you’re going to get 75% male applicants, the other 25% female applicants. So you’ve got to go out into the market and you’ve got to search, and do the work, and you’ve got to make sure that you’ve got on your selection panel equal representation.
“For us, it is the most critical value, equality in the organisation.”
To hear more of Craig Tiley’s insights into the future of tennis, the vital role of women in sport, the next sports tech revolution, and how the AO has become the world leader, you can listen to The Ministry of Sport Podcast.
https://ministryofsport.com/4-tennis-australia-boss-craig-tiley-says-were-going-to-go-well-beyond-being-a-tennis-organisation/
