AusLeisure

A new plan to improve gender equality in sport in South Australia and increase the number of spectators who attend women’s sporting events has been released.

Launched yesterday at the the Adelaide Striker’s season launch and Women in Sport Breakfast, the South Australian Women in Sport Taskforce Action Plan 2016 -18 intends to address key issues facing women in sport, including:

• Stopping high school and primary school students from dropping out of sports; 
• Creating opportunities for businesses to better collaborate with sportswomen; 
• Providing advice for female athletes on contract negotiations; 
• Attracting more women’s sporting events to South Australia; 
• Removing cultural barriers for women in sport; 
• Increasing the number of women on sports boards and as chief executives of sporting organisations. 

Introducing the plan Assistant Minister to the South Australian Premier Katrine Hildyard says the initiative aims to change the "appalling" statistics about gender equality in sport, stating “it is time to ensure that girls and women can pursue whatever sporting pathway they choose ...  to address gender inequality in sport in pay, conditions, sponsorship, board make up and spectatorship so that girls and women can equally and actively participate in every aspect of their chosen sport.”

Established in 2015, the South Australian Women in Sport Taskforce aims to improve gender equality, change the face of sport leadership, increase spectators and fans for women’s sport, attract women’s sporting events and broadly align sport strategy and diplomacy with cultural events.

The Taskforce complements South Australian Government’s Achieving Women’s Equality policy, which “aims to eliminate barriers and to acknowledge the central role women and girls play in our economy and community".

Assistant Minister Hildyard “Our plan is measurable and timebound and every Taskforce member is determined that we will not be talking about the appalling statistics about gender inequality in sport in the future, that we turn these statistics around.

“Whether a girl or woman wants to write about sport, participate at the highest level, administer it, coach it or make a career out of it, we must remove structural barriers to them being able to do so and we must support and celebrate their efforts."

South Australia is already hosting a growing list of women’s sporting events, including the WBBL and T20 Cricket, the ISPS Handa Women’s Australia Golf Open, the Women’s Tour Down Under and the International Netball Quad Series.

Featuring Australia’s Ambassador for Women’s and Girls, Natasha Stott Despoja, the Adelaide Striker’s season launch and Women in Sport Breakfast included examples of how women’s sport can break down gender barriers while also previewing the Striker’s Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) season ahead. 

Images: Masters Games netball action at the Priceline (Netball SA) Stadium (top) and the Adelaide Striker’s WBBL squad (below).

8th December 2016 - LANDMARK STUDY FINDS SPORT STRUGGLING TO KEEP YOUTH ENGAGED

2nd October 2016 - SOUTH AUSTRALIA OPENS SPORT FUNDING PROGRAM FOR FEMALE CHANGE ROOMS

24th September 2016 - GENDER BALANCE IN SPORT VITAL TO IMPROVING PUBLIC HEALTH

1st April 2016 - ONE THIRD OF AUSTRALIAN WOMEN BACK AN AFL CLUB

21st March 2016 - OVERCOMING THE MOVEMENT SKILLS GENDER DIVIDE

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.