By Timna Jacks
Australians love barracking for an underdog. And if anyone is an underdog in the Australian sporting arena, it surely is the sportswoman.
do not yet receive the kudos they deserve.
The Australian Diamonds with the Constellation Cup after the Test against the New Zealand Silver Ferns in October last year.Credit: Getty Images
Cate Campbell is Australian swimmer of the year (for the third time). Australia's women comfortably outperformed the men at the London Olympics. It could be argued that Karrie Webb, with seven majors, is Australia's greatest golfer. Stephanie Gilmore is a six-time world surfing champion. A Sydney Swifts netball game last season attracted 10,000 supporters, more than attended two National Rugby League games in Sydney on the same weekend.
When asked why women's sport is often relegated to "second-class" status, nearly every commentator referred to a vicious cycle – a fluid relationship between media attention, sponsorship deals, wages, access to resources and performance levels.
Sadly, that cycle continues to fuel doubt in mainstream society as to the capacity and worth of women's sport.
Some of this can be explained by the fact that women are relatively new to sport. Until the mid-20th century, women were barred from competing in many sports, or at least performing at major stadiums.
The English Football Association banned women from playing in mainstream stadiums from 1920 to 1971. Women's boxing was introduced to the Olympics only in 2012. There are plans to launch a professional AFL women's league, but not until 2020.
Sexism at the top of the administration level also hampers the rise of women's sport. In 2004, FIFA president Sepp Blatter suggested women soccer players "wear tighter shorts and low-cut shirts ... to create a more female aesthetic" and attract more male fans. He remains FIFA president.
While gender equality is a basic standard of industry, the sporting world has some catching up to do.
The $43,000 average salary for players in the most notable women's national team – netball's Diamonds – is well below the $57,400 average Australian salary, let alone the $265,179 average AFL player salary.
Top-level resources are continually denied to women – a case in point being the controversy surrounding the planned use of artificial pitches for the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada.
At the World Twenty20 cricket tournament in 2012, Australia's women were paid a lower living allowance than their male counterparts.
Basketball Australia was embarrassed into rewriting its travel policy after Fairfax Media revealed in July 2012 that male members of the Olympic team flew business class to London while the female team travelled in economy.
Many of the country's highest performing sportswomen have struggled to snag sponsorship deals, and when they do, the marketing campaigns often have sexual overtones – a continuing lament of advocates.
Solutions have been hard to come by.
Senior lecturer in sport management at Sydney's University of Technology, Dr Johanna Adriaanse, believes the media play a crucial role.
"You create interest by putting stories in the paper. It enables people to become household names. When you read about a sportsperson, you think, 'Oh, I wonder how she went in that tournament?' and then you check. That's how you create interest," she said.
Moya Dodd, member of the FIFA executive committee and former Matilda, says the lack of women's sport on television is a major problem.
She says lesser interest in women's teams has not necessarily always been the case, citing a 1920s women's soccer game in Liverpool, which pulled a 53,000-strong crowd, compared to 30,000 for the men's.
"People might be conditioned to thinking that women's sport isn't good to watch because they've not seen it for decades. But it didn't begin like that," Dodd said.
Yet changing market forces – the rise of social media, IPTV and Netflix – may help, but the ABC's decision to discontinue broadcasting the WNBL and W-League are clear signs that the government budget for coverage of women's sports is drying up.
Television executives say it is not their responsibility to champion any sport, arguing for a market-driven approach to broadcasting in a 2014 Australian Sports Commission report.
"We're not in the business of quotas. We're in the business of commercial return and if a sport can't generate a commercial return, then it's very unlikely, unless we get funding, that we'll cover it," former media executive of Fox Sports John O'Sullivan said.
Women's sport accounts for just 9 per cent of television news reporting, prompting Canberra Capitals coach Carrie Graf to colourfully decry the priorities of the media: "Dogs and horses get outrageously more coverage on the sports pages than women in sport."
But women's sport advocates are trying to capitalise on the power of social media.
Danielle Warby, board director of the Australian Womensport and Recreation Association and founder and editor of sportingsheilas.com.au, spent her former years scouring the internet for reporting on women's sport.
She believes the internet has given power to its users, enabling them to choose the information they read and share and build a strong fan base.
"There is a lower barrier to entry, less cost regarding TV, and more opportunity in that space because of the nature of the medium, and the way people share things," she said.
"We are building a community online. We will chat at 3am to watch a streamed American soccer game. That's the kind of community we're talking about."
She criticises sporting bodies for ignoring their women's teams and believes reforms to equalise payment deals and close the yawning gender pay gap is overdue.
"Did you know they don't even make Matildas jerseys? There is only the Socceroos jersey. And if you were to go and buy a Socceroos jersey, that pool of money just goes to the men, not to the women. So we're not even able to financially support women.
"I have no doubt that if the Matildas were full-time footballers, they could challenge the world number one."
Warby highlights Netball Australia and Cricket Australia as bodies that are doing better than most on gender equality, but says if sporting agencies continue to neglect their female athletes, philanthropy may be the force to bolster women.
Western Bulldogs vice-president Susan Alberti sparked controversy last year when she opted to sponsor Australia's fastest woman, Melissa Breen, who was receiving no funding from Athletics Australia.
Alternatively, executive director of Women on Boards Australia Claire Braund believes real change comes from giving women more seats on sporting boards.
She says a fresh female perspective provides an "incentive" for sporting bodies that are embroiled in governance ills, or challenged by a fast-moving digital landscape.
"Fans want to feel aligned with a sport's philosophy," Braund says. "They want more than a winning team. They want something that speaks to a culture of a better society. Poor behaviour could be averted by a strong female voice."
The Australian Sports Commission is working with the top 15 funded sports to implement a mandatory 40 per cent female board representation by the end of the year. Four of the 15 bodies – netball, gymnastics, hockey and athletics – are currently compliant.
But will putting women on sporting boards truly make a difference?
A state government-commissioned study by sport management lecturer and sports commentator at Victoria's Federation University, Sue Brown, analysed interviews with 23 female leaders in sport.
It shows that women largely exhibit "a masculine model of leadership" when they take up positions at the top table.
She contentiously defines the masculine model as "black and white decision-making, behind closed doors", as opposed to a typically female approach, which is more collaborative and relationship-based.
While FIFA executive Dodd is an advocate for women's issues, she says she is conscious of being pigeon-holed as a women's advocate. A woman's role on boards is not solely to benefit women, she says.
Dodd's own actions echo Braund's belief that gender diversity on boards leads to improved transparency and accountability.
She was one of the few FIFA executives to return a $25,000 Parmigiani watch given by Brazil's soccer body at the World Cup finals – an action later demanded of all executives by the FIFA ethics committee.
"The research will tell you that corruption flourishes in an environment that is homogenous and where group-think dominates," Dodd says.
"I absolutely do think that diversity, including gender diversity, is important in creating a better decision-making environment. One where the worst elements of sport governance can be reformed."
In Business Review Weekly's list of top 50 Australian sports earners in 2013, there are two women:
Samantha Stosur, No.29, $1.8m
Stephanie Gilmore, No.32, $1.5m