Williams' lifestyle brand EleVen is offering customers an option to pay a 19 cent #PrivilegeTax when they purchase an itemGETTY IMAGES
Venus Williams as part of Women’s History Month and Equal Pay Day yesterday worked with her lifestyle brand, EleVen by Venus Williams, to "launch #PrivilegeTax, an initiative focused on bringing awareness to the existing gender pay gap between men and women," according to Tiffany Moustakas of ADWEEK. Women currently are "paid 81 cents for every $1 men make," and to "spotlight that difference, EleVen is offering customers an option to pay a 19 cent #PrivilegeTax when they purchase an item." All proceeds from #PrivilegeTax "will benefit Girls Inc. of Greater Los Angeles, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring girls to be strong and bold." Williams said, “The wage gap is still a very prevalent issue on a global level, and I believe it’s our responsibility to use our platform to further advocate for the dynamic, inspiring, hardworking women who deserve our attention." Moustakas noted EleVen and Williams also have used #PrivilegeTax to "unveil a platform where young women can visit EleVen’s site for more information about the gender pay gap and interviews with women in various leadership positions" (ADWEEK.com, 3/24).
USWNT STARS GO TO WHITE HOUSE: SI.com's Joseph Salvador noted USWNT Fs Megan Rapinoe and Margaret Purce joined President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden in person yesterday as the couple "hosted an event to mark Equal Pay Day, which dozens of U.S. women's national team players joined virtually." Rapinoe said, "I've been devalued, I've been disrespected and dismissed because I am a woman. ... Despite all the wins, I'm still paid less than men who do the same job that I do." Salvador noted Rapinoe earlier in the day yesterday "testified in front of the House Oversight Committee in a hearing focused on pay inequalities between men and women" (SI.com, 3/24). Rapinoe said new legislation -- the Paycheck Equality Act -- “provides some transparency and accountability. So often women are in positions, whether it’s negotiating their salaries or asking for raises, where we have no idea what we’re up against" ("Nightly News," NBC, 3/24).
