5 sports leading the charge on gender equality this International Women’s Day

Happy International Women’s Day and what better day to look at the sports supporting women!

As a 5-year old girl starting soccer when it was still a ‘boy’s sport’ it was always going to be a case of breaking down barriers. From being the last one standing every time the coach said to get into pairs to having to fund international tours when representing my country to never having watched a single women’s soccer game on TV until I was 17 years old (which happened to be the iconic moment at the 1999 World Cup when Brandi Chastain ripped her top off to reveal a bulging 6-pack just moments after the USA won the final on home soil).

Thankfully that was over 30 years ago and most 5-year old girls today have a lot more opportunity with it being ‘normal’ to play sport and even having the chance to make a career out of their chosen field.

But it’s not just young girls who win from a more equal playing field. I don’t know a single sport out there that isn’t trying to grow its participation, fan base or revenue and by looking to females it opens up a whole segment of players, supporters and advertisers who are desperately looking for new ways to engage with females in the changing media landscape. I won’t even go into the societal benefits of getting more girls and women involved in sport.

However I continue to hear the same two arguments around women’s sport that may slow the progress in the move toward gender equality in sport; the women’s game isn’t the same standard as the men’s AND the women’s game doesn’t generate the same revenue as the men’s.

Of course in the case of some sports like tennis, it’s debatable as to whether the women’s game or men’s game is more exciting to watch but even for those codes where we can agree that the standard may not yet be equal, for me it’s not always about the quality but about relate-ability. Seeing myself reflected and having MY story play-out via these females is more meaningful than whether they can run as fast as their male counterparts. As a casual AFL fan, watching the newly established AFLW (women’s league) on TV is of far greater interest to me than the equivalent men’s league. I can see myself through these ladies as they experience the highs and lows that come with being an elite athlete, their camaraderie and their off-field stories. I’m at a point now where I know more female AFL player's names than men’s. So to half the population, women’s sport provides a form of greater connection via relevance.

When it comes to revenue - I get it. Working in media, I completely understand the value of broadcast rights and the importance of audiences and that a lot of men’s sport trumps the women’s game in this area but this has to be a case of chicken-and-egg. Without the investment, the exposure and the training resources it’s near impossible to grow the game to a level of critical media mass. But those that do invest will hopefully benefit the most in the future - over 70% of all global spending is done by women so if sport organisations play the long game, their code will offer a strong platform to take a greater share of this revenue opportunity, especially in this new media age where audiences are fragmenting and live sport is one of the few content genres bucking the trend.

So here’s a thumbs-up to these five sport organisations leading the charge in women’s sport and here’s hoping they will reap the greatest rewards down the track:

1. Volvo Ocean Race

As a sport where mixed teams is a more viable option, the Volvo Ocean Race made one of the most progressive moves on the international sport scene to encourage more elite female participation by instigating a rule that incentivised and rewarded teams that had female sailors.

For the latest edition of the competition (2017/2018), teams can be made up of different ratios of men and women with combinations including 7 men, 7 men and up to 2 females, an even split of 5 men and 5 women or lastly an all women team of 11. 

Their view is that diversity in business has proven benefit and it’s no different in sport. In fact Dee Caffari, the female skipper leading Turn the Tide on Plastic who has an equal gender mix of sailors on her boat has to be one of the most in-demand speakers and covered personalities in the race – not only rewarding the sponsors that got behind her but also inspiring a whole new generation of female sailors (and female athletes in general for that matter)!

2. AFL

Last year, the AFL launched its first female professional leg (AFLW) 3-years ahead of schedule with a solid marketing budget and by using the leverage they have over media from the men’s game to ensure substantial coverage of the women’s game. The result was better than anyone predicted with sell-out crowds and a TV rating bonanza of over 1 million and many of Australia’s top female athletes changing codes to AFL. The biggest challenge being how to accommodate the growth in the game with a 76% jump in participation.

While the women’s salaries are still meager ($8,500 on average) with most still holding down another job, they have laid the foundation for a hugely successful women’s game and the true test for the AFL will come when commercial interests may not justify the on-going support and we will see if there really is genuine support for the women’s game or it was just a quick tactic to garner a new social demo in the men’s game.

3. Cricket Australia

Sticking with Australia we turn to women’s cricket and while it may have been the player’s forcing their hand, we have to give credit to Cricket Australia for finally coming to the party.

Thanks to long negotiations and massive support from the men’s team including the likes of Steve Smith, a joint agreement with the men’s and the women’s team was signed with the national body to ensure both the women’s and men’s game moved forward. The collective agreement saw significant increases to the national women’s players’ salaries with a minimum retainer of $71,000 (the minimum for men is $217,000). It was the biggest re-adjustment in women’s sport salaries in Australian history. More equal clauses around commercial rights, visitation and grassroots development were also included along with a controversial pregnancy clause around players having to notify their employer as soon as they knew they were pregnant being dropped. A massive high-five to the male players who had less to gain but stuck by their female counterparts to ensure a win for the game across the board.

4. Norway Football

Continuing with awesome blokes, we have to recognise the Norwegian Football Association where once again the guys stood in unison with their female counterparts signing a joint agreement with their national body that meant the Norway women’s team would get paid the same amount as the men to represent their country - a landmark deal in gender pay in sport. They even went over and above and took a pay cut to ensure pay equality which reflected Scandinavian’s wider beliefs on a fair society. Norwegian men’s captain, Stefan Johansen welcomed the new set-up saying “I just think that's how it should be. Women are as important as men”.

5. New Zealand Rugby

New Zealand’s most financially successful sport organisation, New Zealand Rugby is set to include elite women's XVs players in professional contracts.

The news comes after NZ rugby recorded significant profits with plans to have an integrated tournament for the World Rugby sevens series in 2020-23 meaning the globally recognised tournament would include women’s games alongside the men’s in the tournament.

While it is great to see these sport organisations paving the way for women athletes it’s hard to find too many other codes re-shaping the mold so here’s hoping by next International Women’s Day we can add more to the list.

In the meantime, cheers to the male athletes helping in the pursuit of gender equality and the organisation’s taking a punt and making the rest look out-of-date! I leave Sponsors with a challenge to up their game so great athletes like Serena Williams earn as much off the court as their male counterparts and can take their rightful spot on the list of the most paid athletes.