I prefer to make a statement in the affirmative and manifest positive change, and it seems that change is starting to proliferate.
Turn on the TV and no longer will you find male-only sports shows. There might still be a single, some may say token, female, but each definitely holds her own among the panel of male colleagues.
The next challenge is to sway television executives to believe that more women is an engaging, informative and, dare I say, attractive proposition.
As we continue to grow and support women’s sport, more female experts will have the knowledge and credentials to put their hand up for roles in the media, executive positions within football departments or on boards, or even taking the reins as senior coach of both men’s and women’s teams.
But we mustn’t be complacent.
Having an exponential increase, compared to a few years ago, of females within these roles doesn’t mean we have found our equilibrium. We’re coming from a very, very long run-up and, given that women are still few and far between (in some cases still non-existent), we still have a long way to go.
Some people say, and even I used to blindly buy into this argument, that we must find the right person for the right role. This is a tricky one. In my opinion, this is true – if you take a holistic view.
By that, I mean you must also provide everyone with the opportunities to win the role on their merit. For too long, this has been the domain for the ‘boys club’.
If you scratch the surface, you will find many of the people making these hiring decisions are the same men who have protected their own positions and the accompanying perks and pay packet, for many years.
Some have ‘evolved’ through necessity, others have had a lightbulb moment when opportunities for their own daughters are bought into the argument, and thankfully, there are those who have always believed in giving equal opportunities, so the right person for the role can be selected.
I was faced with a situation only a couple of years ago at a radio station I had previously worked for, in both a voluntary and paid capacity. Two of the big-name presenters asked me if I would like to return to the station to join their show.
Naturally, I was excited by the prospect and other opportunities this could present, which included potentially bringing back the sports radio show I had developed as the first of its kind in the country.
After setting up a meeting with management and inviting my own manager along, it appeared we were moving in the right direction until the phones went quiet and my manager received an email addressed to him, about me, despite the fact I had created the meeting and conversation.
In part, this is what it read:
“We need more time to determine what role females will play in [station’s] future. Some of the things we are considering include coverage of female sports, female hosts and female contributors. It’s fair to say that this part of [station] is work in progress.
“In these circumstances, it’s difficult for us to give Tiffany any certainty about opportunities at [station]. In the event we decide to increase the female content in [station’s] programs, we’d be pleased to talk further.”
I happened to be playing golf at the time I received this forwarded email and, after stewing over it for a number of holes, asked my golf partner at the time (fortuitously the chief editor of one of our country’s leading newspapers) if my disbelief and disgust was unwarranted.
“I’ll put it to you like this,” he replied.
“Take out the word female and replace it with Aborigines, Muslims or people with a disability. How does it read now? There would be an almighty uproar, but for some reason, society still thinks it’s alright to continue to talk about women like this.”
I followed up this email with a one-on-one meeting with the general manager of the station and asked him to explain the context behind the email. The meeting lasted less than ten minutes and before he stormed out of it.
One of the more eyebrow-raising lines was, “Tiffany, if I was to give you a job, a man would have to lose his job.”
We are now three years on and, while some of the management and ownership has changed, it seems attitudes haven’t.
Recently, a female sports reporter was sacked because of cost-cutting, despite many of her male colleagues rating her work and wanting her to continue.
The way in which she was asked to garner support from her colleagues is disgraceful and still makes me shake my head in disbelief. Once again, time and personnel have moved on, but attitudes have remained at their sexist worst.
Sport, like every section of society, must be a level playing field when it comes to opportunities to train, gain experience and ultimately be in a position to win a role you aspire to.
Let’s make sure people from a diverse range of backgrounds are offered opportunities to gain the necessary experience and credentials and ultimately jobs that, for far too long, have been the domain of white men.
We can be what we can see.
Listen to how Tiffany Cherry has broken down boundaries in the sports media industry in the We Are The World We Create Glemorangie Podcast below.
reuster75
Roar Rookie
Couldn't agree more. Some examples of this are Gerard Whateley, Waleed Aly, Tiffany Cherry, Sarah Jones, Tara Rushton, Mel McLaughlin, Gideon Haigh, Simon Hill. All are excellent commentators who are great thinkers when it comes to sport and none of them have played sport at the highest level, yet all are far more interesting than ex-players such as Robbie Slater, Mark Bosnich, BT, Wayne Carey, Danny Frawley, David King to name but a few.
reuster75
Roar Rookie
"I’m all for more women, but the reality is some of them are just terrible". Rather odd comment, what has the quality of existing women in sports media got to do with what this article is talking about? Nobody says "I'm all for more blokes, but the reality is some of them are just terrible" because men in sports media (and media in general) are never subjected to the same levels of scrutiny as women are. Absolutely there are some female commentators out there that aren't great but that's no excuse for not hiring more. "The rest across the board are pretty ordinary. There’s many more they’re forcing in who are downright terrible and wouldn’t be getting a run if they weren’t female." Oh so you are across every single female who works in sports media in Australia are you? Are you saying that nearly all female commentators in Australian sports media are worse than the channel nine cricket commentators?
reuster75
Roar Rookie
"Having said that, I do understand it is hard to break through the ‘boys club’ mentality at times, and have no doubt some women miss out because of their gender. However it is no different to men that miss out on jobs because the recruiters friend also put his hand up. No it's not even remotely the same as this. We're talking here about a situation where people are missing out on work purely because of their sex (which is not something they can control), not because of any lack of talent. In your example the male misses out because he's not ranked as qualified or as suitable as someone else (which he can control), not because of his sex. Agreed that affirmative action isn't ideal (as Tiffany herself points out) but we don't live in an ideal world.
IAP
Guest
You'd swear reading this that there was no women in sports media until 10 minutes ago. It's just not true. Take away footy for a moment, and look at the sports that women play at an elite level - tennis, golf, athletics, swimming, netball, basketball etc etc; all of these sports have female commentators. Women have been hosting on fox sports for years. The trouble we have now is that we can't look past our noses, and all we can see is footy. Women just aren't suited to expert commentary roles in footy, because they haven't played at the elite level. People want and respect the opinions of people who have been there and done it, regardless of the sport that they're watching. There's a reason that commentary boxes and analysis shows have a host, a person doing play-by-play commentary and expert commentators who have played the game. Footy just doesn't have women who have played at the highest level so there's no place for them as expert commentators. I'm all for women in sports media, but in the right roles, which is already commonplace, and has been for years.
gus emberg
Guest
Or perhaps, high pitched, sqeeky voices do not gell that good with television.
bubba
Guest
Grammar and spelling skills would also be an advantage.
dbjm
Guest
You lost me. Where did I criticise the right to vote? I mentioned affirmative action - the policy of promoting/recruiting people based on immutable characteristics - such as gender, race, sexuality. Not the same things as women getting the right to vote
JamesH
Roar Guru
Yeah, that whole 'right to vote' thing worked out poorly for women, huh?
JamesH
Roar Guru
Does it matter? Why does increasing women's viewing need to be a condition of employing women?
Kurt
Guest
Agreed - I find Daisy's contributions to be generally pretty good, and find her post-match on-field interviewing to be quite sharp.
MH01
Guest
“Take out the word female and replace it with Aborigines, Muslims or people with a disability. How does it read now? There would be an almighty uproar, but for some reason, society still thinks it’s alright to continue to talk about women like this.” And you are okay with this quote? Your chief editor, are you sure they are the most qualified for the job? Identity politics can be a very dangerous thing, cause you end up with not the most qualified, but the most entitled . The poor female commentators , are really not helping the arguement are they? Cause like the boys for the job, they got thier positions not based on skill. Sad reality is, it’s who you know , and not what’s between your legs, or colour of your skin. Anyone who has no realised this in work culture is dillusional......
dbjm
Guest
Are you saying Cameron Ling isn't pretty :)
Onside
Guest
"who cares who presents it so long as they do it well? " On the point dbjm, what happens in an environment, where regardless of either talent or gender, the presenter negatively effects ratings because they alienate viewers who switch channels.
Steele
Guest
I would prefer less ex players commentating and replace them with more intelligent and articulate types. American sports have more expert commentators and a higher percentage of females hosting sports programs and it is better for it to be honest. I would much rather listen to Daisy and Kelli Underwood over B.T and Wayne Carey. What you failed to mention was the appearances of said females. It is quite obvious there is a set of rules for hiring female talent, which could be quite daunting for future prospects. This set of rules doesn’t apply to male talent.
Craig
Guest
I’m all for more women, but the reality is some of them are just terrible. It’s true some of the blokes are too, but generally they have the advantage of having played the game (an advantage they have over better male non-players too). Erin Molan is just dreadful. Channel 9 committed to her a long time ago and had it been a bloke with the continual blunders and drop in ratings she would have been punted a long time ago. Kellie underwood is pretty good, Tracey Holmes great. Alana Ferguson is fairly average. Yvonne Sampson is probably my favorite of those who have come through in recent years. I don’t mind Caroline Wilson although many do not. The rest across the board are pretty ordinary. There’s many more they’re forcing in who are downright terrible and wouldn’t be getting a run if they weren’t female. I don’t know what the answer is. Keep in mind half or so of the commentators are usually ex players, so that already limits the places available in most sports.
dbjm
Guest
A few things about this article. First - affirmative action is a bad idea. History has shown that affirmative action is detrimental to both the people they are trying to help and others that are negatively affected by the actions. Having said that, I do understand it is hard to break through the 'boys club' mentality at times, and have no doubt some women miss out because of their gender. However it is no different to men that miss out on jobs because the recruiters friend also put his hand up Second, the email excerpt you provided is an example of the problem, the company is obviously not concerned with getting the right person for the role if they are examining the 'female content'. Content should be content, who cares who presents it so long as they do it well? The comment about a man losing his job is interesting - you either have an open position or you don't (or am I being too black and white?) At the end of the day, yes everyone should be entitled to pursue an opportunity, but that doesnt mean they are necessarily skilled enough to be entitled to the job they want
dbjm
Guest
I dont mind Daisy...
Onside
Guest
Are there ratings data on effect of women commentators. Do women commentators result in more women viewers.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
More Kelli Underwood, less Daisy Pearce!
Adam
Roar Guru
We could definitely do with more Ruan Sims and less Gus Gould's in sports media.