23 May 2017

Last year was a big one for women in sport. We saw our Olympians perform on an international stage. Cricket, soccer and AFL crept into our homes and joined Netball Australia in broadcasting on our screens. Female reporters continued to break onto male dominated panels.

Female officials, referees and umpires stepped onto fields and courts around the nation to officiate elite level games. And this year, we seem to be heading in the right direction with Cricket Australia set to increase the pay of female players, the WNBL partnering with Fox Sports to broadcast games, Eleni Glouftsis making history as AFL’s first female field umpire and the Government’s Girls Make Your Move campaign offering a 30-day free gym pass to encourage girls to get active.

But before we start patting ourselves on the back, we need to remember that despite all this, sport is still a man’s game. The women who blow a whistle, or kick a ball or swing a bat- basically any girl who dares to step into the sacred boys club that is Australian sport- is told she is ‘ruining the sport’ or should ‘go back to the kitchen’.

1. There’s a massive pay gap

It doesn’t take much digging to pull up stats about the difference between male and female athletes in terms of pay. And before you start arguments about how female athletes just aren’t as good as the men, take note of the fact that this pay gap extends to female coaches, managers and journalists, where skill isn’t based on biological factors. Regardless of arguments about the quality of game, our female athletes shouldn’t have to sacrifice their financial wellbeing in order to perform at an elite level.

2. Horses get more coverage than our female athletes

Women’s sport only receives 7% of Aussie sports programming, which means horses are getting more coverage than our female athletes. Horses. Keep in mind that when women do reach our screens, they smash the ratings with the AFL All Stars game reaching a peak audience of 1.05 million viewers.

3. Our girls still face sexist abuse

If our female athletes run too hard, kick too far or jump too high, they’re slammed with a torrent of abuse. Look, no one is saying that males don’t experience abuse as well but it is often directed at his performance, rather than his body. And let’s not forget the crazy amount of threats of sexual violence that women in sport (including journos and commentators) have to cope with.

On the surface it’s easy to see only the men. But we can’t forget the contributions of women.

This means the mums that endure early morning wake ups to drive to footy and who wash filthy socks after a muddy game. The managers who collect the fees at the end of the match and make sure everyone’s rego is paid. The canteen helpers who dish out Powerades and red frogs.

The BBQ ladies who will make an ace bacon and egg sandwich on a Saturday morning. The girlfriends, wives and big sisters that cheer on from the sidelines and chuck you water bottles during the half time chat. The intense netball mums that crowd the tiny space between the courts and braid their daughter’s hair.

The Olympians we cheer as they step onto the podium. The reporters and journos who break down the game and give us our match analysis’. The referees, umpires and officials who step onto the field with a whistle in their hand and make sure there’s a game to be played.

At first glance, the boy’s club that is the Aussie sporting arena means it’s hard to see the women who aren’t getting a fair go. At its core, sport is still a man’s game. But behind all the locker room talk and the grumpy old men who are stuck fifty years in the past, there are women who are working hard to push the boundaries. And we’re going to keep pushing until we get there.