The first fractures have appeared in the glass ceiling for women’s professional sport with the NSW Breakers cricket team becoming the first fully professional domestic team.
NSW players will now earn a minimum of $35,000 for the upcoming season with leading international players set to earn $100,000 or more.
» AFL Women’s on The Roar
» All the team info for the women’s AFL league
» 2017 women’s AFL fixtures & draw
It’s a big deal because it means all NSW female players will now have the opportunity to pursue their career in cricket on a full-time basis.
“It enables the girls in our squad that flexibility to train more often. That is going to only make us more successful in our competition. Hopefully we can see some of the other teams follow,” Southern Stars wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy said.
“When I started out I was playing for Australia, attending university and also working.
“So, to cut out that requirement and be able to focus solely on sport is a fantastic opportunity. Some players may work part time or study part time but it gives them that flexibility now.”
The emergence of the team as a professional outfit represents a significant leap forward for women’s sport in Australia after a number of baby steps.
Despite some controversy, 2016 has to be considered as a breakthrough year for women in the battle of sports equality.
Last month Netball Australia announced that players in the new national league would have their minimum wage doubled to $27,375. Clubs in the NNL have a salary cap of $675,000 each to spend on ten players, bringing the average wage for a player up to $67,500, up from the average $22,500 across the now defunct Trans-Tasman Netball League.
The announcement of the AFL Women’s competition was a victory for women’s sport but not necessarily to the extent we were hoping. The creation of a professional competition is a great advancement, but the associated wage disparity between the men’s and women’s competitions illustrates just how wide the gap is.
Players in the AFL Women’s will be paid on average just $5,000 for the 8-week competition with marquee players set to be paid $25,000. The average salary for male counterparts is an excess of $300k.
It’s not just player payments that have come under scrutiny, though. The lack of professional facilities and staff faced by W-League players is appalling given the professional intention of the competition.
So how do we fix these issues?
One key factor is sponsorship. The Breakers victory is possible because of the building and leasing company Lendlease, who have thrown plenty of cash at the club. It’s an effort that should both be applauded and followed by other prospective investors.
“I am confident that every state in Australia will now follow the lead of Cricket NSW by giving their female cricketers the opportunity to earn a living wage,” NSW cricket chief executive Andrew Jones said.
Women’s sport is growing and will only continue to do so in the future which means the time is ripe for further sponsors to come on board.
But in order to do that, every code needs to enjoy significant growth. That translates to match attendance and viewership ratings and put bluntly both are poor at best.
There’s no quick fix for those issues. Simply, it will relate to the standard of play served up by female athletes mixed in with public interest. Of course, the government can also chip in to increase funding and offer improved facilities, but relying on grants isn’t a long term solution.
Last night the Women in Sport awards were presented to Australia’s top female athletes. Layne Beachley, AO, was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Michelle Payne picked up the Australian Federal Government Award for Outstanding Woman in Sport and Kim Brennan collected sports woman of the year.
It’s frightening to think just how far our women will be able to go in the future if more windfall sponsorships can help to aid their development.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
It seems franchise cricket has forgotten about the great battle between bat and ball. In fact, this season in the IPL there is no battle at all.
The mammoth rise of Jake Fraser-McGurk - his enormous potential and the destructive shot-making that he possesses makes him a very tempting option.
Marcus Stoinis produced his first IPL century and it was a beauty. He went 6, 4, 4, 4 to finish off the Lucknow Super…
Xavier Bartlett has been permission to extend his cricketing education with a spell of T20s in England, playing in the Blast competition for Kent…
Three-Test spinner Matthew Kuhnemann has signed with Tasmania in a bid for red-ball game time ahead of Australia's tour of Sri Lanka next summer.…
Last week, you read about the Matt XI, a compilation of the best cricketers ever to represent the name Matt. And to be fair,…
