This week the NRL celebrates Women in League Round.
Throughout the week and among the celebrations, one question I’ll be asked is ‘what’s the point?’
The people who ask this question often think the round is tokenistic. That it’s unnecessary. That it gives the NRL and the clubs the chance to play in pink jerseys, serve champagne at games and pay lip service to the role women play in our game.
Underlying this question is a belief that the NRL fundamentally doesn’t care about women – and it’s a view with which I vehemently disagree.
While people may be able to point to sports like AFL and cricket that have established their own women’s competitions, there is no sport that is doing more to actively promote and encourage women to feel part of a sporting family across the board (in whatever capacity they would like to be involved) than rugby league.
So we may not have a women’s competition yet. But this year, for the first time, an unbroken pathway has been established to make sure that girls from age six all the way to 18 can play rugby league. Todd Greenberg has made it clear that he wants to make sure there are the numbers to ensure a sustainable women’s competition before it is launched. These pathways will go a long way to making this talent pool a reality.
In the last two years we have seen the Australian Jillaroos broadcast on television as part of an international double-header and this year when the Rugby League World Cup takes place, it will be the first time that the men’s and women’s tournament have been played concurrently.
Think about the people that are involved in the administration of our game. Women like Cathy Harris who sits on the Australian Rugby League Commission, Raelene Castle who is CEO at the Canterbury Bulldogs, Helen Wood-Grant on the board of the Men of League Foundation, Maria Sykes who is COO at the Rugby League World Cup, and the countless women who sit on rugby league boards like Rebecca Frizelle, Vicki Leaver, Katie Brassil and Marina Go.
There is no other traditional, male sport in Australia that offers the same opportunities for women in media like rugby league does.
Thanks to trailblazers like Debbie Spillane and Margie McDonald, women like Yvonne Sampson, Hannah Hollis, Lara Pitt and Erin Molan are frequent and welcome fixtures in our coverage.
(Image via Channel Nine Style)
And I haven’t even mentioned the droves of female volunteers, fans and members, and Kasey Badger and Belinda Sleeman, who you can spot running down the touchline on any given weekend.
But the elephant in the room when we talk about Women in League round is, of course, the men taking the field each week who have been convicted of offences which involve violence towards women.
Violence toward any other human being is completely unacceptable. But this is a very difficult issue to navigate.
I often reflect on the players that have committed offences before they embraced the opportunity for a second chance. It’s one of my favourite things about our game is that we do give people a second chance. Most close to home are Manu Ma’u and Danny Wicks, who wore the blue and gold and used that second chance to educate others and support change in their communities.
Which offences are serious enough that it warrants rubbing a player out permanently from the game? Equally challenging is who makes that call?
They’re issues that the NRL grapples with, particularly with violence towards women, and the code’s strong relationships with organisations like the Full Stop Foundation and Our Watch reflects this. But I know the NRL takes this issue seriously. So seriously that on the weekend it was announced that, in what would be a first in Australian sport, the NRL is discussing new enforcement measures for players found guilty of violence against women.
The truth is that women remain underrepresented in almost every facet of Australian society. As at March this year there were only nine female CEOs and ten women that were chairperson of companies which feature in the ASX 200. Women face a 23 per cent gender pay gap and at least one Australian woman is killed every week by a current or former partner.
Rugby league does not have the answer to these problems. But it can be part of the solution and it can use its powerful voice to drive and initiate change in our communities.
All the things I’ve set out in this article tell me that the NRL is serious about making the rugby league family inclusive for everyone.
Our code is not perfect, but nothing is. We need to keep holding our game accountable and recognise that there is plenty more work to be done.
But we also need to celebrate how far we have come.
I hope you all take a moment this week to celebrate the role women play in our game. I want to thank the women involved in footy who inspire me each day and remind us there is a place for everyone in the rugby league family whether it is as a fan, player, referee, advocate or administrator.
Thank you to women like Yvonne Sampson, Catharine Lumby, Helen Wood-Grant, Marina Go, Kezie Apps, Stephanie Crockford, Raelene Castle and Kasey Badger. You can’t be what you can’t see and these women serve as role models for the next generation of talent coming through. Young women who will grow up in a world where the barriers to gender equality will be even lower and fewer.
I also want to leave you with a challenge. Apart from celebrating the women in your life who are involved in rugby league this week there is one very simple thing you can do to champion diversity.
This Sunday morning at 11am, the Interstate Challenge will be played between the New South Wales and Queensland women’s teams. This is the first time that NSW have had the opportunity to win the series two years in a row.
The game will be broadcast live on Fox League. So if you are someone that thinks that the NRL should have a women’s competition, do more than talk the talk, walk the walk and tune in so that the code understands that there is a keen interest in women who play footy. We all know how effective power in numbers can be, so let’s make sure that this game is closely followed.
To all the women out there who are part of the rugby league family – this week is about celebrating you. Thank you for everything you do to make our game the greatest and thank you to rugby league for always making me feel like my voice is a welcome part of the conversation.
Perry Bridge
Guest
#Crosscoder What I find interesting the inference of the comments - 'what Rugby League did 11 years ago' contrasted with the reference to the talk about last years as a watershed moment for women in all sport. Nothing in cricket or AFL is an over night event with respect to female participation. They have all been slow builds. Cricket wise - I recall watching Lindsay Reeler and then Belinda Clark scoring runs for Australia when womens cricket was on the nose to most. The AFLW was the 'lag' event as far as AFL and women go. Even the AFL International Cup has seen a womens div in 2011 and 2014 (teams coming from Ireland, Canada, PNG, Tonga, Fiji, US and this year joined by Great Britain and Pakistan). The 18,500 players is a nice stat for RL(W) but the dismissal of other codes re school comps/intro programs is odd. Because - first and foremost - all codes validly count participation across all formats. I won't bother trying to one up on total numbers of clubs/teams/players in community footy. That shouldn't be the point of this. What is disappointing is that you couldn't celebrate your codes achievements without trying to dish out backhanders to other codes (I don't think I'm stretching this too much to assume you're whacking the AFL). At any rate - on Sunday my wife, daughter and I ducked in to watch a local clubs U/15 girls #2 team playing against another side. Most the girls in the #2 are first year footballers. The #1 team on the other oval over the bridge (where the canteen was - the chips were awesome) - they're very good. What is great to see is the camaraderie on show - - I haven't seen that in basketball or netball. The team bonding of football clubs tends to be more real - - and a lot of that is the time back in the sheds and the 'court' sports don't have this.
Your kidding
Guest
Mary, are you on the NRL payroll or do you just believe the spin?
Birdy
Guest
Unfortunately your so totally wrong Jacko. I'll leave that for Oingo boingo to knock out of the park.
Oingo Boingo
Guest
Thank you Mr Freud.
Jacko
Guest
Any idea how many woman v men have Circumsisions? not good to be a male baby!!!
Jacko
Guest
So if they are all equal its ok but if one is a boss and one a worker its wrong? Are we starting to head down the CLASS system of relationships old India had? New Law...No shagging anyone who earns more or has a better job...Silly really...As Mary says...if its consentual then WHAT PROBLEM
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
Hoy, sorry I actually misread the comments above. If it's the case that the women were taken advantage of then I have a problem. If it was a relationship between two consenting adults no issue at all. There are power imbalances in society - the same could be said of a powerful woman doing something similar in the same position.
Nat
Roar Guru
Hi Mary and Kathy, Firstly, good piece Mary. I wouldn't worry too much about gender bias in up and coming journalists. Cream does rise to the top but along with well written, insightful pieces does include the networking, glad handing the powers that be. In any profession, if you want to get ahead, that's what you have to do. Personally I think media have moved past the T&A tokenist journo as most pundits prefer quality analysis over a pretty face - in the long run. Mary I do disagree with your CH9 SOO reflection. With the possible exception of the mediator, there are few others who have more knowledge on SOO than these guys (Johns did let himself down) as analysts, not so much game commentators. James has had that mediator gig all year so fair is fair. I think a true test of character would be to ask Bennett/Hasler. If they are good and insightful, they will respect and answer but if it's the alternative you'll get a single word. Work for what you want and the quality will rise irrespective of gender.
J.C.
Roar Pro
Also, i did not hear that from tin cup. I heard it in a work seminar for equal rights and perceptions. But you get the point that some people outhere cant get past that women can be doctors when its been going on for over a century, hence the uproar about Dr Who, as they think doctor they think man. Who knows maybe marvel might change Dr Strange into a woman as well
J.C.
Roar Pro
Oh thanks for the lesson
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
I'm all for a women in league round.The contributions the mothers,sisiters and daughters have made too the game over the many years of the code's existence ,should be given the recognition it deserves. An example of the roles they play, was given in an address by Harvey Norman CEO Katie Page to a conference of Amex executives in New York earlier this year, when she was asked about the rise of women's sport in Australia. " What you see today is because of what rugby league did 11 years ago.People talk about last year being a watershed moment in all sport for women, but rugby league started that conversation 11 years ago.How incredible." A women's rugby league world cup in its infancy this year,the Jillaroos have been around for a long time State of origin for women,.An increase of 22% in females playing rl in 2016 and a further 31% this year to 18,500 players registered with clubs who play a form of rugby league.And unlike other codes this does not include participants in school comps por programs, or those who play Touch. It was only a couple of years or so ago,yougn girls had to stop playing rl at 12.Now they have the pathway and are taking advantage of it.The French ,English,Pacific Islands ,NZ and PNG have women and girls playing rl.So its not just confined to an island such as Australia.
Hoy
Roar Guru
No it doesn't... I think this train of thought, painting the ladies as too weak to resist the "powerful man" is pathetic and completely sexist. According to a lot of people, I am not much for recognsing sexism as a soon to be middle aged white male who likes football of all persuasions, but it staggers me that you can think down that line and get away with it. That is pure, unadulterated rubbish to think women are too weak to make decisions because there is a bloke with a suit in the same room as them. That is about as sexist as it comes isn't it? Come on.
mushi
Guest
The riddle was in tin cup, asked by Kevin Costner's character to two male colleagues and answered by Renee Russo's character, who was a doctor, as she steps in for her first lesson, It's then followed up by Costner's character fallign for the same bias when he says something along the lines of "I was expecting doctor..."
J.C.
Roar Pro
Try again
mushi
Guest
Ah Tin Cup.
mushi
Guest
Funny OB likening the NRL to lesbianism means that you believe it is a fundamental part of rugby league that women have to be excluded.
mushi
Guest
Yes tried hard, a discriminatory label is just that, but discrimination is inherent in any decision that isn’t random. It’s just that there is valid discrimination and positive discrimination to go along with negative and unconscious discrimination.
Oingo Boingo
Guest
And more men in Netball associations, CWA meetings and big mobs of straight white men on the lesbian floats in the Mardi Gras .
Oingo Boingo
Guest
Spoken like a true politician.
Perry Bridge
Guest
You may claim it not be a competition but you really appeared to make it so.