Women’s sport in Australia is an issue that many don’t concern themselves with but one that deserves more attention.
The gender divide in modern society has long been known, but rarely spoken about. Such a divide dates back to the first modern Olympics in 1896 when women weren’t able to compete.
All journalists have their reasons for taking up such a career. Mine comes from the respect I have for women in sport and the recognition I think female athletes deserve but rarely receive.
People will have their jokes about women’s sport existing only for the benefit of men. The Lingerie Football League (now known as the Legends Football League) has almost certainly fuelled that image, as has the women who fight for the World Wrestling Entertainment.
What people fail to realise though is that female athletes have just as much ability as their male counterparts
Open up the latest edition of The Age, Herald Sun or any other Australian newspaper though and at least 80 per cent of the sports section will be about male-dominated sports.
On TV, women’s sport fails to gain much attention at all, despite Fox Sports now having five channels. The Women’s National Basketball League and the Women’s National Soccer League both lost their spots on the ABC’s Saturday afternoon programming due to funding cuts.
This move ends a 35-year relationship between the WNBL and the ABC, while the W-League soccer has been shown on the ABC since its inception in 2008.
The Australian women’s cricket team has had their moments on both Channel Nine and the ABC, but now they too are feeling the pinch.
Only the ANZ Championship Netball competition can be regularly seen on television, having recently secured a strong deal between ONE and Fox Sports.
The lack of coverage for all of these sports is staggering given the success that Australia has had in the past few years. The WNBL has just finished its best season to date, with Australian legends Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor returning to the local competition, while Olympians from Australia, New Zealand and the United States were dotted throughout the league.
A few weeks ago seven teams were vying for a place in the top four, with the season coming down to the final game.
The W-League also enjoyed a highly entertaining season that concluded with the final between Perth and Canberra on December 17, while the Australian women’s cricket team has won the past three Twenty20 World Championships and are also the current holders of the Women’s World Cup after triumphing in India in 2013.
Those are just three sports that are enjoying a period of great success without many people being aware due to the lack of public access. Many of Australia’s top female athletes make little to no money through sport and as such are forced to balance their life with another job to make ends meet.
Australia worships their sporting heroes, so why can’t some of those great sporting heroes be women like Lauren Jackson, Meg Lanning, Laura Geitz and Lisa De Vanna.
Elite athletes all deserve equal recognition for their achievements, be they male or female. However in our gender-divided society this rarely happens.
The obvious difference in the coverage of female sport is simply one example of how poorly women are treated in modern society. Women in Australia make 82 cents to every dollar made by a man, and although there are more women with a tertiary degree, men typically dominate the market for higher-paid jobs.
There is no reason why women who are often outperforming their male counterparts can’t have the same recognition in this great country of ours. In a world where we are all about equality across race and sexual orientation, it is about time that the issue of discrimination against women gains the attention it deserves.
Such is the case in sport. Australians need to realise that while many of our male-dominated sports may be thriving, particularly the A-League with the help of the Western Sydney Wanderers winning the Asian Champions League or the Socceroos winning the Asian Cup, women’s sport in Australia is as strong as it has ever been.
With both a women’s Twenty20 Big Bash League and a women’s AFL competition in the making, people should start taking women’s sport more seriously. No longer should female athletes hide in the shadows of their male counterparts. It is time for them to step into the spotlight and for people support women’s sport in Australia.
The world is in a state of flux where technology is rapidly developing and people from all different walks of life are being accepted into the community; we as a society must change our historic views on sport and accept that a strong female presence is here to stay.
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
If you're somehow offended or you don't understand my point, then its quite clear that you don't understand the problem. People don't watch women's sport not because they're women. Its because the standard is lower. Its the same reason amateur football gets much less interest than the AFL, and Sydney first grade gets less interest than test matches. Meanwhile you're telling people to watch simply because they're women. It doesn't work like that. You haven't identified the problem yet, and until you do you will never fix it.
Bondy
Guest
It is political correctness that makes us " generally " refrain form comment , womens sport in general is sh^^ not worth it and not up to a genuine standard , we're kidding ourselves otherwise ....
Jarrah
Guest
Sorry to infuriate you so much Kaks. Each to their own opinion I guess. Not saying to blindly follow women's sport. Hardly advocating for that at all. Simply suggesting that it deserves more recognition than what it gets, but if you don't want to give it that recognition then so be it. Despite what you may say about how boring it is, there are people on this planet that will give it the recognition it deserves, more than you may think too.
Kaks
Roar Guru
Oh stop it Jarrah. We have all watched women's sport and im not buying for one moment that it is not a significantly lower standard. Women's tennis bores me to sleep. Women's football can only be deemed exciting because defenders and goalkeepers constantly make mistakes. Women's cricket is extremely slow and boring. shall i continue? What gripes me is when people try to tell me that it is not inferior when it quite clearly is. I would have no problem watching women's sport if it was the better option however it is not, so stop shoving it down people's throats that you need to blindly follow it
Kaks
Roar Guru
im sure i will be told i need to blindly follow women's sports sometime in the very near future even though it is, with all political correctness aside, usually inferior to what men serve up. And apparently im sexist for speaking the truth
Jarrah
Guest
Firstly, the fact that you used the word significantly really bothers me. I can accept the opinion that those teams may be performing at a lower level than their male counterparts. But a SIGNIFICANTLY lower level? You've clearly just illustrated my point that few people actually pay attention to women's sport So, did you even read the article? Champions of the past THREE Twenty20 Women's World Cups, as well as reigning champions of the most recent 50-over tournament in 2013. Ok I'll admit, Australian men's cricket has had some great sides and some great players who I highly admire for what they did. But the men have historically performed below par at the T20 world cups and haven't had the success they would have liked in the 50-over format (though we are all hoping that will change very shortly). You may argue that women's cricket isn't as strong as men's cricket, and while individually that may be true pitted against each other, however I would suggest that women's cricket has a greater level of competitiveness than the men and results aren't quite as predictable, making success that much sweeter. The Australian Opals are coming off a silver medal at last years world champs, losing only to their nemesis the USA. While I love the Boomers, what have they been able to do lately? 12th at the World Cup in Spain last year and quarter-final appearances at the last two Olympics. Ok, that doesn't quite have the ring as silver at the last world champs, bronze at the 2012 Olympics or silver at the 2000, 2004 AND 2008 Olympics. Oh and the Matildas? Glad I got to them. Ok the men have had some great success lately. Asian Cup triumph this year. Yep don't need to remind me about that since I was at that very game. Appearances at the last three world cups including the round of 16 in 2006. All very good reading. But the Matildas? They're currently 10th in the FIFA world rankings. Quarterfinal appearances at the last two world cups, champions at the 2010 Asian Cup and runners up at last years event. I'd say that stacks up pretty well against the men. Now, I don't mean to sound harsh here or anything, but I think that you represent the EXACT reason why I wrote this article. You may say that all of that success that the women have had must have an asterisk next to it because the men's competitions are that much harder, but then isn't that simply showing the lack of credit that you give to women's sport. I would suggest that you only say the women haven't been performing as well as the men because of a lack of education in the media. Which supports my point to a tee. If that is the case, then I've done my job because I've shown exactly why women's sport deserves more attention in Australian media.
Jarrah
Guest
Jara you just perfectly summarised why I wrote this article. Thanks very much for your support. Sadly, if can often be hard to come by even for those that you are trying to support.
Candice Freeman
Guest
If you head to my site Sportzgirlz you'll see all the latest on women's sports. I only launched a week ago and already have nearly 1700 Facebook followers
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
The Women's World Cup for football was similar. The final between Japan and the USA was simply fantastic. The match smashed the record for the most amount of tweets per second; not just for a football match, for anything. Distant second, I think, was the death of Osama Bin Laden.
Jara W
Guest
Agreed, you have hit the nail on the head. But not the way you think. You’ve simply confirmed the blind prejudice and ignorance this article alludes to. Women, men, children. None of us are able to make the choice of what we follow without influence. We’re not watching what we choose. We’re watching what we’re told. Thanks for the article Jarrah. Keep up the great work.
Bondy
Guest
Uhh....
Working Class Rugger
Guest
The Women's Rugby World Cup played in France last year made for compelling viewing. It was of a very high standard with plenty of skill, speed and physicality. It certainly deserved more attention. It actually saw regular viewing numbers over 2 million for quite a few games in The host nation (France) and not just for games with the host team.
DB
Guest
Sorry bondy it's just 'W-League' (I googled it). If you have a look at the article 'soccer' was not capitalised so was in reference to the sport not the name of the league
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
All those teams are performing at a significantly lower level than their male counterparts. Saying they're outperforming the men is like saying the 6th division team is outperforming the premier division team just because theyre higher on their respective ladder.
Bondy
Guest
At least its a recognised sport that's applicable to both women and men to play .You obviously dont watch the A League there's been one speculative dive after 27 Rds in the A League, and I've not seen diving in women's football at all in the W League ,but you like the stereotype ...
Alex L
Roar Rookie
W League probably rates better than the A League because they dive less.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
In East Asia, women's volleyball is of a high standard and receives a lot of airtime. Women's tennis is another example where the top players are household names. It is not just a matter of showing more women's sport on tv, but also one of determining which sports make compelling viewing.
Lazza
Guest
I love Women's Football and will be watching this years World Cup with interest. The last one had record crowds and TV ratings while the women played some beautiful Football. "Women in Australia make 82 cents to every dollar made by a man, and although there are more women with a tertiary degree, men typically dominate the market for higher-paid jobs." Can you give us a break down of the actual degrees these women are studying? That might give you a better idea of why they still lag behind men in average salaries.
nordster
Guest
We must all be guilted into watching women's sport in the name of equality or somethin ;)
Kaks
Roar Guru
And this is where the debate should be dead and buried. But dont hold your breath