INTHEBLACK November 2023 - Magazine - Page 36
Kelly Defina/Stringer/Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
F E AT U R E
Above: Players of the
Thunderbirds celebrate
victory with the trophy
on stage after the
2023 Super Netball
Grand Final match
between Adelaide
Thunderbirds and NSW
Swifts at John Cain
Arena in July 2023 in
Melbourne, Australia.
It also shows that investment in women
would also increase a sport’s overall profile and
stands to benefit its commercial outcomes over
the longer term.
“Gender equality and pay equality in sport
won’t happen through good intention or token
efforts,” says Elizabeth Broderick AO, founder
of the Champions of Change Coalition.
“When you invest in and develop women
and girls equally with men, the market
expands, the whole sport lifts and success
follows,” Broderick says.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
While disparity in gender pay remains
persistent across the corporate world, some
corporations are stepping up to help narrow
the gap for women in sport.
In the US, Ally Financial recently signed a
multi-million-dollar deal across ESPN networks
that requires 90 per cent of its investment to
focus on women’s sports. This includes initiatives
such as expanding game highlights, branded
content and features across its networks.
36 INTHEBLACK November 2023
Google recently announced a partnership with
sports website The Athletic that promises to
double the amount of women’s sports coverage.
In 2022, the first-ever network to focus on
female athletes, the Women’s Sports Network,
was launched in the US.
Some sporting leagues are also taking
steps to close the gender pay gap. In April
2023, Cricket Australia and the Australian
Cricketers’ Association announced a new
memorandum of understanding that includes
a 66 per cent increase in payments to women
cricketers to A$133 million over five years.
The majority can now earn more than
A$100,000 a year, making them on average
the highest paid female players of team sports
in Australia by a significant margin. In Super
Netball, the minimum salary is A$43,000.
The AFLW minimum wage is almost
A$40,000, while the National Rugby League
Women’s (NRLW) is A$30,000.
“The increase in remuneration for female
cricketers reinforces the message that cricket
is a sport where female athletes can thrive
