It’s truly ludicrous that in this day and age, we still have to address the fact that women are just as capable as men. The idea that women are somehow less competent or less capable of leadership is not only ridiculous but downright laughable. That we are supposed to believe that the same gender that gives birth to and raises future generations is somehow incapable of handling important responsibilities. The notion that women are inherently weaker or less intelligent than men is so ludicrous that it’s almost comical. But while we can find humor in these absurd stereotypes, the reality is that they still have a negative impact on women’s lives. The fact that we still have to fight for basic gender equality is not a joke. It’s up to all of us to continue pushing for progress. If we are going to use humor, let us use it as a tool to expose the ridiculousness of discrimination. Let us use it to acknowledge the serious work that still needs to be done to ensure that women are treated fairly and with respect.

While women continue to fight for equality, there is one industry that has been promoting equality since the 70s, the poker industry. Historically, poker has been a male-dominated game, with very few women participating in cash games or tournaments. However, poker pundits and historians know that women, from the earliest days of poker with Lottie Deno and Alice ‘Poker Alice’ Tubbs, to the more recent Barbara Enright, the first woman to win a WSOP bracelet in an open event, Jennifer Harman who has made fortunes playing at the biggest cash games in the world, and Vanessa Selbst, who tops the all-time tournament winnings list for women, have been on equal standing from the beginning. The World Series of Poker was one of the earliest entities to embrace equality, hosting the first WSOP Ladies Championship in 1977. Just 93 players entered the event but it was a start. The most recent version of this saw over 1,000 women enter this ground-breaking event.