In the glorious wake of three World Cups in Aotearoa, is women's sport still headed in the right direction? Photo / Unsplash / Steven Lelham
Suzanne McFadden for LockerRoom
More visibility, more collaboration, more investment, more equity, more mum-athletes – the wishlist from Kiwi wāhine in sport on International Women’s Day.
The call on this International Women’s Day is to “Invest in women: Accelerate progress.”
It’s a United Nations goal to achieve gender equality – and empower all women and girls – by 2030. But one of the main challenges is an “alarming” lack of money – with an almost $600 billion deficit each year in spending on gender equality measures.
“Sport is an unrivalled asset to help us to end all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls, and to ensure women’s full and equal participation in leadership and decision-making,” says UN Women executive director Sima Bahous.
For IWD, we asked seven wāhine in New Zealand sport two questions: Is women’s sport continuing to make progress? And what is your hope for women’s sport in the next year?
Raelene Castle: Chief executive of Sport New Zealand
Is women’s sport continuing to make progress?
A resounding yes! There’s more broadcast coverage, more media coverage, and also national sports organisations are bringing the female athlete-specific conversations to the fore from a support, training and welfare perspective. We still have a way to go, and we need to keep it top of mind, but there is strong progress.
What is your hope for women’s sport in the next year?
Visibility is key to ensuring women’s sport continues to grow, and with the Olympics and Paralympics on the horizon, I know we’ll see our amazing female athletes own their moment in the sun and make New Zealanders proud.
Honey Hireme-Smiler: Sky Sport commentator and New Zealand Rugby League board member
Is women’s sport continuing to make progress?
I’ve seen huge progress in the past five years – both on the field and off. I love seeing female athletes striving for success and breaking new ground. The growth of women’s rugby and rugby league has been enormous; athletes are fitter, faster, and stronger and the games are more intense and competitive.
What is your hope for women’s sport in the next year?
More collaboration between sporting entities to create competitions that don’t clash, so we can have more cross-code multi-talented athletes being able to participate in multiple sports, events, and competitions.
Irene van Dyk: Netball Hall of Famer and Netball NZ participation manager for youth
Is women’s sport continuing to make progress?
I think, slowly but surely, we are getting recognised, and we are being supported. But I think we can push a little harder; we have the right to. As more Kiwi women do well on the world sporting stage, it raises the profile and visibility for women, which is really important. We have some wonderful women now in sports leadership and governance. Certain sports are probably doing better than others at promoting their female athletes. But to move forward, it has to be done collectively.
What is your hope for women’s sport in the next year?
The media plays such an important role in putting women’s sport in the spotlight, across so many platforms. We’ve seen a major rise in media coverage for women’s sport in New Zealand (to 29 per cent in 2023) and I hope that keeps rising. As women, we need to make the most of when we have the opportunity in the media – that we really send the message, and advocate for each other.
I also hope more resources are poured into women’s sport this year, and that we ensure they are used wisely.
Anna Taylor: Para cycling world champion, member of the Paralympics NZ Athletes’ Council and Athlete Leaders Network board.
Is women’s sport continuing to make progress?
New Zealand has a long and storied history of strong female athlete success. Although there’s been more visibility and celebration of these successes recently, we still have a long way to go.
What’s your hope for women’s sport in the next year?
We can build on this momentum by being fierce advocates and leaders in the decision-making that affects the outcomes of female sport in New Zealand.
Disability sport adds another layer of complexity. Female para athletes and Paralympians are phenomenal women and athletes – their stories and successes need to be shared to enhance visibility. Coming into the Paralympic Games this year, we have an exciting opportunity to showcase these incredible wāhine toa.
Dame Sophie Pascoe, para swimmer and 11-time Paralympic gold medallist (and mum-to-be).
Is women’s sport continuing to make progress?
Of course, to bulletpoint a few reasons why:
What’s your hope for women’s sport in the next year?
In the next year, I hope to see continued growth in female participation, media coverage, and recognition across all sports. Additionally, I hope that women athletes continue to work together to advocate for respect and equality within the sporting world.
I believe we will continue to see an increase in the number of women participating or competing at an elite level while pregnant or postpartum. So, over the next year I hope we as a society continue to work on celebrating the strength and capabilities of the female body and mind, and recognise that women are powerful and capable of breaking barriers.
Ali Pottinger: Running coach and trail runner
Is women’s sport continuing to make progress?
Absolutely! We saw record attendances at the Women’s Football World Cup last year, and viewership of women’s sport is increasing. Articles celebrating women’s sporting achievements are far more commonplace. I tuned in to the cricket the other day and was rapt to hear a female commentator.
In trail running, we’re seeing an increase in female coaches and organisers. Races are also working towards more equitable outcomes for women by offering feminine hygiene products at aid stations, spaces for female changing and breastfeeding, hosting female interview panels, offering equality in prizemoney, female-specific merchandise, and striving towards visibility both on the start lines and in social media and marketing.
It is really exciting to see, both at an elite and grassroots level, women engaging in sport and being more widely recognised and celebrated.
What’s your hope for women’s sport in the next year?
I’d love to see continued and accelerated progress; we’re heading in the right direction, and the momentum is there. I hope to see further investment in women’s sport both at the high performance and grassroots levels.
I’d like to see increased awareness around equity in women’s sport and the importance of visibility. As a society, collectively recognising that we all have a role to play in creating more equitable outcomes for women, because I’m sure the world is a better, healthier place when women and girls are engaged in sport.
Nicky van den Bos: Chief executive of Women in Sport Aotearoa, Ngā Wāhine Hākinakina o Aotearoa (WISPA)
Is women’s sport continuing to make progress?
The three Women’s World Cup events hosted in Aotearoa have improved the visibility and value of our elite female sports representatives. These opportunities to ‘see her’ have had a material benefit on our rate of participation growth, increased investment and an up-tick in fan engagement. But without future major events in the calendar profiling our elite women, it could slow down the rate of positive progress.
We’ve seen an increase in the volume and share of media coverage and broadcasting of women’s sport, plus a growth in the share of female voices in decision-making roles around board tables. And we’re starting to see evidence of systems change – from pay equity to parental policies, programmes and targeted investment. WISPA recognises there’s a greater need for sustained equitable investment, clear and well-supported pathways for female coaches, officials and leaders with a more diverse representation of women and girls across sport that reflects our communities. We see a massive opportunity to improve the level of equity across all levels of sport and physical activity.
What’s your hope for women’s sport in the next year?
Looking to the future, WISPA wants to see regularly highly attended women’s sports events given the calibre on offer around the country. We’re keen to see shifts in the breadth of visibility of our female athletes, building on recent success, particularly for those women competing and performing outside the main sports codes.
We hope to support and recognise more organisations contributing to improving equity in their own code and collaboratively driving change across the sector. We’d love to see more women putting their hands up, being considered for and placed in opportunities to lead across the industry. Women do amazing things when they come together and support and champion each other. Ultimately, we want to continue to see our fantastic colleagues, sisters and friends – along with our male champions – come together as national communities of change, driving collective action towards the world’s most equitable sports system, te Tiriti-inspired.
This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.
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