EXCLUSIVE: Venus Williams Discusses Her Activewear Brand EleVen, the Privilege Tax Initiative, and Her New Collection

One of the legends of this sport, Venus Williams, has had a massive impact on tennis as a female player. Undoubtedly, she is one of the trailblazers in the development of this sport, along with her sister, Serena Williams. She also fought for equal pay in women’s tennis, along with many other greats, including Billie Jean King and Serena Williams. 

To promote equal pay and equal opportunity, Venus created a fashion brand for women in 2007, called EleVen. Her main motive was to empower women and make them feel confident while wearing her brand’s clothes. Safe to say, she has been pretty successful in doing that. Also, with this brand, she created some great noise in the business world.

“I started EleVen with the dream of creating a community to help empower women to feel and do their best in clothing that they can feel confident in on and off the court,” Venus stated. 

Usually, she launches various designs inspired by real-life events. Keeping up that trend, she recently launched a few collections on the movie, ‘The Batman’, and before that, she launched a few Wonder Woman collections which were an instant hit. 

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Meanwhile, her brand recently began a new initiative to help the pay gap between men and women, which is called the privilege tax initiative. To sum up, when you are trying to buy a product from the EleVen store, you will have the option to pay $1 at the checkout. That $1 will go to Girls Inc., a charity committed to inspiring girls in every step of their lives. 

Currently, the 7-time Grand Slam champion is out of the tennis court. Fans are still waiting to see her make a comeback, as she had hinted at a possible return.

Before her eventual comeback on the WTA tour, Venus gave an exclusive interview to EssentiallySports, where she talked about equal pay, her Brand EleVen, and many other things. 

March is a very important month for women. How are you planning to reach out to more women regarding your new initiative?

EleVen’s number one goal is to empower women. When I set out to create this brand, I wanted every collection, partnership, and initiative to inspire women to be the best versions of themselves and push the limits of their potential. EleVen’s work with the Privilege Tax initiative and Girls Inc. is indicative of that mission. Throughout this initiative and future initiatives, we will continue to fight for female empowerment. 

How important is it to have an impact on young girls and women who haven’t yet started out on their professional career paths? 

Extending my influence to young girls and women is extremely important to me. Through our Privilege Tax initiative and partnership with Girls Inc., we’re able to raise awareness around the gender pay gap and remind these young women that their potential is infinite. The organization combines lasting mentorship, research-based programming, and a pro-girl environment to equip its members with the tools necessary to graduate from high school with the capacity, determination, and support needed to become strong, independent and confident women. In my experience, success and progress are impossible without confidence, and I’m so proud to be partnering with and supporting an organization that promotes just that. 

Tennis is one of the sports where men and women are treated almost equally in terms of pay. You had a huge role to play to close out the gap between men’s and women’s pay at Wimbledon 2007. How difficult was it for you to make it happen?

The path to equal pay in tennis wasn’t an easy one, but it was certainly worth fighting for. While I’m so happy with the progress me and my fellow players have accomplished, the issue goes far beyond the confines of this sport. I want to empower all athletes to reject complacency and stand up for the compensation they deserve.

Do you think tennis will be able to close the pay gap between men and women across all tournaments and not just the Grand Slams?

The issue of the pay gap is important across all tournaments, all sports, and all careers. I want to encourage every woman to recognize her value and stand up for what she believes in. I’ve always made an effort to utilize my platform as a vessel for change and progress. From the moment the issue of equal pay was brought to my attention early on in my tennis career, I’ve tried to use my voice to help enact positive change. The cause extends far beyond the confines of tennis; women are working longer hours and pursuing higher education across the globe. Nonetheless, wage gaps between men and women still exist, particularly for women of color. I hope that through this campaign, and future ones, we can help reach a place of true equality across industries for all the highly deserving women out there. 

Your brother-in-law and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian has been a vocal supporter of gender equality and closing out the gap between men and women. Did he have an influence on you for starting this initiative?

Alexis has been incredibly supportive of the work we’ve been doing and I’m so glad to have his voice and advocacy. It’s important for men to contribute their voices to this conversation as well – it will take both men and women speaking up about the issue to enact real change.

Who are the prominent personalities in tennis and in the business world that motivated you to launch this campaign? 

As the Privilege Tax campaign continues to grow and expand, we’ve been so lucky to receive the support of several brands and individuals, including fitness guru Tracy Anderson, Tom Brady’s TB12, Captivate, IMG Academy, and so many more. Through their help and support of this initiative, we’re able to raise awareness and funds for this important cause.

At your activewear brand EleVen, were there any measures you took to ensure equality between men and women in the organization?

At EleVen, we promote a culture of equality, diversity, and unity. It’s very important to me that everyone at EleVen, and all of my brands, knows their voice matters. EleVen’s purpose as a brand is to inspire individuals and propel progress, and that applies to how we run our business, too. 

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