If motherhood is a career killer, it is no surprise women remain so under-represented in sport, a sector that has been surprisingly slow to embrace the benefits of equality
Waiting for sport to catch up with modern life can be like watching paint dry. You know it’s going to happen eventually but the rate of progress is painful. How the Women’s Tennis Association is only now coming under pressure to review its policy around seeding and maternity leave is mind-boggling. From Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, to Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka, women have been having babies and returning to high-profile tennis careers for decades.
Would we even be having this conversation if it wasn’t for Queen Serena? Consistently asking the big questions on race, women, sexism, maternity, pay equality and profile the No 1 (well, technically No 451 under the WTA’s archaic policy) continues to represent for women the only sportswoman powerful and popular enough to penetrate the top end of sports rankings’ lists such as this week’s ESPN World Fame 100.
Related: Serena Williams should be seeded at Wimbledon for the good of the game
Related: No, Serena Williams isn’t being punished for having a baby
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