Professional Footballers Australia (PFA)
From “No Play” to “Equal Pay” The Empowerment of Women in Australian Professional Football from 2015 to 2019 02
Introduction
The purpose of this document is to provide a sequential account of the seminal moments that have culminated in achieving a Collective Bargaining Agreement that is unique to both Australian sport and world football.
How did the Matildas go from refusing to board a plane to take on the world’s greatest women’s football team, the United States, to achieving equality with the Socceroos? Achieving an agreement fundamentally anchored in partner- ship and equality.
An agreement that positions the Socceroos and the Matildas as not only our pre-eminent national teams but as global leaders within the football community.
The energy around women’s sport is unprecedented. Piece by piece, this energy is dismantling the structural barriers built by decades of neglect and underinvestment in women’s sport. It is enabling people to see the ex- cellence inherent in women’s football and allows the universal principles of diversity and inclusion – so synonymous with football – to amplify its social power.
This sets the stage for extraordinary progress. To allow women’s football to be the social, economic and cultural force we know that it can, we must be bold and ambitious with our goals. This belief sat at the heart of our mission for women’s football – and with the Socceroos and Matildas, we are only just beginning.
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Role of Football
Football is the ideal vehicle for change. It is the largest participation sport for girls in this country and on a global scale can reach and unite, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religious denomination.
There is a shared language amongst all footballers, fans, administrators, clubs and organisations: a language of passion, love and admiration for the beautiful game. This along with the power that the game has to unify makes it the perfect vehicle to show just what it takes to remove barriers to equality.
Unconscious bias and stereotypical frameworks have, however, normalised inequality for women in sport. Sim- ilarly, the power and infuence of women within football governance remained negligible. With these structural and historical barriers in place, signifcant challenges remained for genuine reform of how we administered and invested in women’s football.
The Matildas: A Symbol
Australian sport is having a love affair with the Matildas. CBA in 2011, six World Cups and Olympic Games came and went. This was all for negligible remuneration, minimal Their journey began humbly in 1975, participating in an recognition, sub-standard resourcing and over-sized men’s Asian Football Confederation Women’s Championship. The playing strips. matches, unfortunately, were not recognised as offcial Australian international fxtures and it wasn’t until 1979 that The tipping point came in 2015. The players had endured the frst offcial international matches against New Zealand enough. They refused to board a plane to the United States. were played. From chaos came change.
In the 1980s a grand total of 20 “A” Internationals were This document aspires to step out the journey to equality played, underlining the lack of investment and respect and a Collective Bargaining Agreement of which the players afforded the women’s team. From the 1990s until the frst and the sport can be immensely proud.
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Executive Summary
The best partnerships aren’t dependent on a mere common goal but on a shared path of equality, desire, and no small amount of passion
Sarah Maclean
The path to equality was contingent on clearly identifying three distinct components: the values that would anchor our mission, the drivers that would effect the structural chang- es that were needed and tangible outcomes that delivered short and long-term change.
The Values
Opportunity Every player deserves to make the best of their career and the best of their lives. The mood for positive action in relation to gender equality in football was growing so decisive action was required.
Fairness Treating each footballer fairly sits at the heart of the game. Fairness, however, doesn’t always equate to equality. Fairness for women in football means progressive investment to ensure we can overcome historical neglect and stereotypes that damage genuine equity.
Leadership Boldness, ambition and a transformational vision were required to ensure a case for wom- en’s football could be successfully prosecuted. A network of stakeholders from all parts of the game needed to be inspired by a glimpse into the future.
The Drivers
Collective Using strength in numbers, an understanding of their inherent value and their male peers to Bargaining collectively seek an improvement to all areas of their football journey – from the remuner- ation model to performance standards the players needed to reimagine what they wanted football to look like.
Governance A legitimate voice and representation for women within decision-making whilst ensuring Reform that leadership positions are provided for women within management, coupled with the training and support to set them up to succeed.
Narrative A reset was needed. Women’s football was not corporate social responsibility or an expense line noted in the balance sheet. Instead, it was an undervalued asset with an ethos anchored in the deepest values of sport that deserved signifcant investment. This story needed to be told and all stakeholders convinced of its economical, social and cultural value.
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The Outcomes
The overarching goal was to build a genuine industry for wom- en’s football and a genuine career for all women in football.
Pay & Employment Players all classifed as professionals Minimum remuneration increases from $0 to $16,335 Gender equality with the A-League on an hourly basis Asserting the rights of the players as elite Revenue share model with FFA and Socceroos which underpins professionals with an inherent value gender equality in payment to the Matildas, up to $100k per year
Representation PFA admits W-League players as full members PFA achieves 40/40/20 on its Executive PFA becomes largest institutional member of the FFA Congress Players are impacted upon by the game’s PFA creates dual leadership structure with creation of the posi- decisions. It’s only fair that they drive ac- tion of Deputy Chief Executive countability and contribute to diversity FFA achieves gender equality on its Board Establishment of a Women’s Football Council within the FFA Congress All Congress members required to have equal gender represen- tation at AGM
Performance Standards Conditions for the Matildas are identical to the Socceroos in all respects Ensuring Minimum Medical Standards across the Professional Raising the standard of logistical and op- League are identical erational support so that we can underpin the building of world-class players and a world-class league
Performance Model Resources applied to the Matildas are identical to the Socceroos
Raising the quality of structural support surrounding players to ensure world-class development
Visibility PFA funded streaming of matches during the 2017/18 W-League Season From 2018/19, two W-League matches were to be broadcast live; Providing the visibility and exposure neces- From 2018/19, all W-League matches were live streamed via an sary for aspiring young footballers and the app building of a commercial product
Competition Design Establishment of the Professional Women’s Football Committee to ensure player feedback was received in formulation of league policy Build a ft for purpose competition that PFA tabling its strategic vision for women’s football in “The Next ensures the integrity and growth of the Step” document W-League
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World Leading High Performance Enhanced Progressive Visibility Remuneration Performance Standards Competition Governance and Enhanced Model Model Executed Codifed Design Representation OUTCOMES
Collective Bargaining Governance Reform Changing the Narrative
Protecting the rights of the players through New composition for the FFA congress, Workplace report to shine a light and start bespoke industrial agreements that are fair ensuring a broader and more balanced the conversation of the challenges facing and progressive, allowing the players and representation of stakeholders, and a female footballers. 60@60: A roadmap the sport to remain viable legitimate body, in the Women’s Football to chart the course for Women’s Football. Council, with direct accountability and Town Hall, an initiative to embolden, voting rights to ensure equality in football capture and drive the initiatives required to for women and girls move the entire sport forward DRIVERS
PFA Reform
Statutes changed to allow W-League members with full rights and entitlements. An executive committee comprising of 30% female representation. Female senior management appointment. Composition of W-League Delegates structure refective of the membership. Full integration of W-League players within the PFA
Opportunity Fairness Leadership
Recognising the timeliness and signif- What is fair isn’t always equal, fairness Boldness and ambition, that’s what is cance of empowering the players to step can require doing more for some to needed to ensure extraordinary progress.
VALUES forward and confront the challenges they restore the historic neglect and inade- Consider strategic choices and taking face. Investing in each other, sharing quate longstanding treatment they have the right people on the journey, is what in each other’s successes, what can be experienced as a result of entrenched penultimately bore the most transfor- achieved through the collective desires frameworks and systems mational deal unique to football and of the players Australian sport
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2015
Collective Bargaining
The Matildas Strike – the catalyst for the awakening of women’s sport
Matildas both past and present have always shown a will- ingness to be bold in the pursuit of a mission.
They are individuals who have come together to help forge a better working world through their world – football. These women have been unwavering in their role to transform and revolutionise their game. The Matildas strike proved to be the defning moment for women’s sport in Australia.
It was a stance about fairness and ambition. The Players recognised that without an agreement, they and the game would not move forward: providing the nations aspiring players with a decent quality of life. To do this, they were prepared to sacrifce the greatest moment of a professional career, the chance to play the world champions in the United States.
This awakening is what set the wheels in motion for change, a necessary change for football and the role of women in football.
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2016
Governance Reform involved appointing at least three female players to the Ex- ecutive and amending the PFA Rules to facilitate W-League players becoming full members. Professional Footballers Australia – the Role of Women In parallel, the PFA appointed new management with John Didulica appointed as Chief Executive and Craig Foster stepping down as Chair to be replaced by Brendan Schwab. The PFA was established in 1993, with two key objectives: to support the players and build the game. Remarkably, the The frst task for the new leadership was to effect the short but signifcant years since its establishment make necessary changes to the PFA statutes and ensure the the PFA the longest serving stakeholder in the professional PFA resourced accordingly, with former Executive Member game in Australia. and Matilda Kate Gill pivoting to become a management resource committed to the integration into the PFA of the The key to its longevity has always been the players. Since W-League membership. its establishment, the PFA has, and always will be run by the players for the players. The players that drove its begin- nings had the ambition and desire to form an association in Australia that refected the dignity, professionalism and quality associated with earning a living from playing the world’s greatest and most important game.
These players, though, were exclusively men.
It was time for the PFA to refect internally and reconsider its own governance. Evolution was overdue. Women’s foot- ball required investment and equitable integration into the institutions of Australian football.
The PFA needed to go back to its values.
PFA Governance Review & New PFA Leadership
In the absence of a Chief Executive, Craig Foster was ap- pointed interim Chair of the PFA and immediately initiated a formal governance review to ensure the PFA could remain an organisation of best practice.
The Governance Review identifed the need for the PFA to evolve and become genuinely accessible to female players, from the Matildas to Australia’s most talented domestic players through the W-League. These recommendations
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OVER 90% 85% 82% 55%
of players signalled they of players earn less than of players indicated that of players, outside of their would consider leaving $5,000 for the season, their playing and training football commitments, the game early to pursue 25% less than $500 facilities were substan- work or study more than more fnancially rewarding dard 20 hrs per week career options
Narrative
Not only is it a problem that we were letting down so many women footballers but that we were missing out on a golden opportunity to empower football as the nation’s leading sport
State of Play –the Reality of Women’s the future success of the national team and consolidating Football in Australia & the Workplace an exciting pathway that all young girls could aspire to.
Conditions Report The three key outcomes resulting from the report fndings, were the implementation of a minimum wage so that players could commit to their football pursuits, visibility of Where do you start? Identify the acute problems that need the league, having all matches broadcast and accessible to be fxed. on multiple platforms and striving for a full home and away season, ensuring the integrity of the W-League. The players Years of neglect of women’s football most clearly resonat- knew that this was going to be a journey, most importantly ed with the signifcant challenges faced by our W-League it was their journey and one that would ensure the careers players. of players to come.
The PFA instigated a Workplace Conditions Report which would lay bare the players’ concerns, their challenges, their realities and their desire to do something about it. Careers were short-term and precarious, characterised by a high workforce turnover, early departure from the sport at an elite level and the existence of few minimum workplace standards. There was no minimum remuneration in place.
The picture, though dire, demonstrated the massive poten- tial and opportunity that even incremental investment could create. The W-League was already proving to be a vehicle for future internationals – so it was clear that the rate of return on investment would be signifcant – underpinning
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2017
Narrative
Grassroots to Greatness – Building a It was a vision that provided the tangible blueprint that Vision for Women’s Football the players, professional Clubs, the FFA and the football community desperately needed. It was the bedrock of forging the beginnings of a partnership that would drive the professionalism of the W-League and lifting and protecting This was the vision of ‘opportunity’. It was designed to the standards for women players across the W-League. support and drive the livelihoods of aspiring and current do- mestic footballers but also turbo-charge women’s football Why 60? - Our international analysis told us that’s how many against the growing threat of other elite sports. fully professional players we needed to be competitive.
This emboldened action and shared vision was the catalyst The vison being the employment of at least 60 players at at in establishing a genuine professional pathway, aiming to least $60k per annum over a 4-year cycle. With employment cement the W-League as the best league in the world, and opportunities coming from a fully integrated Australian foot- in the process powering the Matildas to World Cup and ball industry. To build a cohesive career path from talented Olympic glory. junior to full-time professional footballer.
Greatness
60 players employed at 60k p/a capable of achieving Greatness
Grassroots
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Collective Bargaining Visible role models matter. Young girls can’t aspire to be professional players until they have the opportunity to see and follow the careers of those before them. Just like Establishment of a W-League Collective young players, future leaders need to have a visible future to Bargaining Agreement (CBA) – a consider assuming leadership positions within the game. minimum salary, conditions and integration. Historical neglect not only impacts current players but ensures that women struggle to gain access to the same opportunities for leadership as their male counterparts.
For the frst time, a foundation had been laid for W-League This underpins the need to fast-track women into positions players to play football as professionals. Stakeholder col- of infuence, leveraging the appropriate support from their laboration secured: peers and senior management to ensure that any shortfall in requisite experience is managed.
A Minimum Wage The PFA acknowledged this, again altering its statutes to Allowing players to commit to mandate that the Executive Committee achieve gender pari- becoming professionals ty. Three capable and valued active female footballers were appointed as Executive members, along with the creation of a Deputy Chief Executive position within the PFA’s senior management team, occupied by a female. Insurance Protections A guarantee that those who suffer injury There remains much work to reach seamless and con- are not left vulnerable sidered integration for all W-League teams with their professional Clubs. The frst-ever CBA is recognition of the increasing value of female footballers to the sport, as Minimum Medical Standards the W-League and players are the future and the fabric of In line with those implemented in the Australian football. A-League, with specifc inclusions for female athletes
The First-Ever Maternity Provision Affording players contract security and the opportunity to consider starting a family whilst remaining in the game
Professional Standards A commitment from Club and player to ongoing improvement through reciprocity
Player Development Funding Access To support players professional development and wellbeing
The players needed to have and continue to have a voice in how the W-League evolves. Devising a purpose-built com- mittee within the CBA, the Professional Women’s Football Committee achieved exactly that. Allowing the players, the FFA and the Professional Clubs to shape the strategic direc- tion, and the future of players workplace in the W-League.
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2018
space for theories to be tested and ideas challenged, four immediate areas for consideration were uncovered:
1. Provide support structures for females as they enter into, and move up, in administration ranks
2. A national network of regional development centres to identify and support talent development outside major centres
3. Create an environment that is responsive to the way women want to participate
Narrative 4. Parity in investment in football programs at all levels of the game Town Hall: “Better Together” – An industry-focused approach to turbo- charge the women’s game Narrative
Diversity is a powerful driver of innovation, whilst familiarity Exposure of the W-League – Foxtel, stifes ideas. With diversity, aspirations become bolder and “Hersday” Night Football & a Marquee the wisdom of the crowds harnessed. The Town Hall was purpose-built for exactly that reason, it was about con- Player tinuing momentum and leaning on the collective wisdom of the football family and beyond – incorporating players, coaches, administrators, academics, politicians and other For the frst time in 2018, there was full exposure for the experts and thought-leaders. It was a real-time deliberative W-League. Fox Sports provided coverage of all 57 match- democracy that gave all involved a platform and a voice, es, across designated channels and streaming platforms, resulting in a stockpile of initiatives and ideas for moving culminating with the sale of rights to American broadcaster the entire sport forward. The outcomes were amassed into ESPN+ which delivered 17 live W-League matches in Amer- three framework pillars: ican primetime.
• Better Careers – safeguard players and offer a The introduction of a standalone Thursday night fxture people-frst approach; attracting and retaining the within the broadcast schedule meant that the W-League, the nation’s best talent within football players and the women’s game had a primetime spot to call home. On top of that, the league had its frst marquee player • Better Competitions – provide world-class standards in Sam Kerr – standing side-by-side with the A-League and showcase a world-class product marquee.
• Better Industry – enshrine best practice and industry The league’s exposure was fundamental to the players. leadership that drives the game forward It was a key piece to building the game’s momentum and narrative. It underlined the continuing commitment and co- The thoughts of all involved had been articulated and operation of all stakeholders – ensuring that the W-League accountability now rested on those tasked with administer- is given the best opportunity to fourish. ing the game to meet those expectations. Providing a safe
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Governance Reform These dimensions are: societal relations (understanding the value of gender equality – the business case), produc- tion and power relations (allocation of women to roles of The Football Federation Australia (FFA) infuence such as the chair or lead positions, along with Congress Review Working Group - the attracting women to and retaining women in these roles); full participation of women at all levels and emotional relations (promoting a cohesive and collab- of Football Governance orative environment – encouraging respectful, healthy and equal relationships, recognising that advances for women are advances for men too).
In 2016, FIFA, the football world governing body, intervened These relations need to be embedded through the develop- in Australian football seeking governance reform to give ment of industry policy. effect to FIFA 2.0’s commitment to broader stakeholder representation, transparency and human rights. Such policy should set targets that crystallise intent and normalise gender equality. It should focus on the role of Through the FIFA Statutes, in particular Article 15(j), all mem- women and their opportunity to infuence the sport, as well bers legislative bodies must: as remove barriers and the social isolation within sport experienced by many women. be constituted in accordance with the principles of representative democracy and taking into account the Finally, such policy must be coupled with a robust monitor- importance of gender equality in football; ing and reporting mechanism, which sets clear targets for improvement, ensures accountability and highlights prog- The Women’s Football Council was a major recommendation ress. These steps should produce a substantial change to of the Congress Review Working Group – the group tasked transform the participation of women at all levels of football with proposing the new composition for the FFA congress governance, with gender equality transcending numerical – which drew representatives from each stakeholder group, parity. including John Didulica and Kate Gill from the PFA.
The CRWG identifed that historical barriers stood in the way of empowering women within the game’s decision-making. The fact that all nine members federations and club owners were represented by men spoke to that paradigm.
By ensuring a broader and more balanced representation of stakeholders, the Congress could now be truly representa- tive of the game. There was now acute accountability from Board to the stakeholders to ensure equality in football for women and girls.
Establishing and prescribing quotas on corporate boards and political offces is a tried and tested mechanism to im- prove women’s participation in leadership roles. The CRWG recommended a 40/40/20 gender balance across both the FFA Board and Standing Committees. This approach aligned with domestic and international best practice, through its compliance with initiatives such the Australian Human Rights Commission (through its 2010 Gender Equality Blue- print) and the 2018 IOC Gender Equity Review Project.
Quotas are an important part, but only one part of the shift required to achieve substantive gender equality. The foun- dational members of congress and their broader constit- uents – all of who have a signifcant presence on each of the Standing Committees need to implement other gender equality dimensions to move towards a whole of game gender equality approach.
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2019
Collective Bargaining Through its values and personnel, the PFA has developed a deep commitment to advocate positively and drive global Re-negotiation of the W-League CBA – outcomes for players – from freedom for contracting to Building on the Foundation health and safety to the embedding of human rights.
Presently, no issue resonates more acutely amongst the The Independence of the A-League and W-League was de- members and the organisation than the inequality that cided but not yet clearly defned. The degree of uncertainty persists between male and female footballers. The most surrounding the economic and governance parameters of glaring evidence of such inequality exists in the allocation the leagues meant that the most favourable option for the of prize money by FIFA for their showcase tournaments, the players was to roll the existing collective agreements over, Men’s and Women’s World Cups. but not without embedding important policy principles given their concession in allowing the professional Clubs time to FIFA as the governing body has a responsibility to redress rebuild the leagues. the past underinvestment and lack of equity, redressing generations of exclusion and discrimination towards female For the W-League, these areas included a commitment to footballers. record funding for player development and entrenching gen- der equality across minimum standards, most signifcantly FIFA has committed to gender equality, non-discrimination being pay, which saw another increase in the season’s and respecting all internationally recognised human rights minimum remuneration by 33% to $16,344. through its Statutes. FIFA’s objectives of FIFA Article 2, 3 and 4 are clear. This increase refects the introduction of the principle of “same base hourly rate for same base work” so W-League At Article 2: players and A-League players receive the same minimum remuneration based on an hourly rate. • “to use its efforts to ensure that the game of football is available to all and resourced for all regardless of A moment in time that the players and all involved should gender or age”; and be proud of. • “to promote the development of women’s football and the full participation of women at all levels of football governance”. Collective Bargaining At Article 3:
Our Goal is Now – Campaign for Fairness • “all internationally recognised human rights” and to and Respect “strive to promote the protection of these rights”; and
• those rights encompass protection from gender dis- The value of women’s football cannot be realised without a crimination, with it being identifed by the FIFA Human global shift. Rights Policy, May 2017 edition as a “salient human rights risk”. According to that policy, “FIFA places The breadth and depth of football globally are unparal- particular emphasis on identifying and addressing dif- leled. It ensures that the empowerment of women can ferential impacts based on gender and on promoting be achieved exponentially by the global football family gender equality”. providing strategic and genuine investment and creating incentives for women to become leaders within football – At Article 4: on and off the pitch.
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• include the words “gender equality” in the heading of True outcomes for women’s football can only be achieved Article 4, which unambiguously prohibits discrimina- through advocacy at the global level – advocacy that not tion against “a private person or group of people on only addresses the historical underinvestment in women’s account of... gender”. football that has stunted its fnancial growth but provides incentives for the players and nations of the world to value It is now incumbent on FIFA to uphold their constitutional women’s football to the extent that it values men’s football. commitment. With this in mind, the PFA has articulated and prosecuted a claim for equal World Cup pay and conditions for men and Such commitment is not addressed by increasing the women. inequality between male and female footballers, which FIFA has done in its allocation of World Cup prize money. FIFA The PFA believes that it not only has a responsibility to announced a doubling of the Women’s FIFA World Cup 2015 its members but as a global footballing citizen, a broader prize money for France 2019, offering a purse of US$30 responsibility to grow and develop women’s football for the million – a fgure that equates to 7.5% of that paid for the future and the opportunity to make football the preeminent FIFA Men’s World Cup Russia 2018. sport worldwide not only for men and boys but also women and girls. This increases the prize money gap between the women’s and men’s tournament by US$27 million between 2014 and 2019. Such underinvestment in women’s football occurs whilst FIFA boasts a record cash reserves of US$2.88 billion and revenues of US$6.4 billion in the four-year period cover- ing the 2018 World Cup.
Why $336m Our Goal is for men’s and women’s teams earning the same fnishing position to receive the same prize money
2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup 2018 FIFA Men’s World Cup (FIFA proposed) (Our Goal: Gender Equality)
Position Per Team Total Per Team Total Per Team Total
Champion $38m $38m $4m $4m $38m $38m
Runner-up $28m $28m $2.6m $2.6m $28m $28m
3rd $24m $24m $2m $2m $24m $24m
4th $22m $22m $1.6m $1.6m $22m $22m
5th-8th $16m $64m $1.45m $5.8m $16m $64m
9th-16th $12m $96m $1m $8m $12m $96m
17th-24th $8m $64m $0.75m $6m $8m $64m
25th-32nd $8m $64m - - - -
Total $400m $30m $336m
All fgures in USD
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Governance Reform This was achieved through a revenue share model where the income received by FFA that relates to the work and value of the players is shared with the players. This includes Women in Governance Initiative – revenues from areas such as broadcast rights, team spon- identifying and upskilling talent sorship, merchandise and licensing, matchday revenues (ticket sales), grants from governments to host matches and other smaller incidental payments that may be received The refrains of “There aren’t enough qualifed women,” that relate to the players. continues to echo throughout the boardrooms of football organisations. The signifcance of this deal is highlighted in the commit- ment to: We address this myth by creating greater readiness for leadership roles. We build a community of support to help women succeed. We look for initiatives and opportunities Partnership that allow for all of this to occur. The game is indivisible and its parts in- terdependent. The absolute integration The PFA, in partnership with the Australian Institute of Com- of FFA, the players, men and women pany Directors and Sport Australia (through their Women will determine the game’s sustainability, Leaders in Sport program) assisted 22 female players and commercialisation and ability to be administrators with governance foundation training. internationally competitive on the world stage It was designed to help to advance their careers off the pitch, equipping participants with a toolkit of knowledge to take on future board directorships and leadership positions Gender Equality within the game. It provided foundational skills for board An approach to remuneration and members with a focus on the responsibilities and potential performance standards that illustrate liability of a director or committee member. respect and opportunity by valuing all trophies and honours equally and While this initiative is a start, it is an important stride to forging a unifed identity that no team drive inclusion, break down barriers to women in leadership, matters more than any other and build a strong and diverse leadership pipeline.
Leadership Investment in youth football – focussed and committed fnancial investment in Collective Bargaining the game; one that enhances the sport- ing and social returns to all those young footballers, coaches and members of The new National Teams CBA - future the football community who are hoping proofng the game, valuing opportunity to be inspired by the game and prosperity.
This deal required champions, it required strong people to Gender Equality is a fundamental concept to the future of stand behind the principle, it required men to be true cham- sport. pions of change.
Not only does it refect the growth of women’s football as a The Socceroos were unwavering in this commitment and commercial product, but Gender Equality is a fundamental in their support for the Matildas to stand alongside them, principle to the investment in sport for governments and coming together as Australia’s National Teams. Men, advo- large corporations. Embracing gender equality proactively cating on behalf of women shouldn’t be understated when places Australian football in the best possible position to genuine and considered. grow.
As fundamental as Gender Equality is, it was equally as critical that the players were genuine partners in the game.
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Conclusion
A gender equality pay deal for the Socceroos and Matildas was only possible because of each of the incremental and compounding gains that had been made in governance, col- lective bargaining and the narrative of women’s sport over the past four years. Without each win, the next – and more signifcant gain – could not have been reached.
Bold and ambitious goals were needed to ensure the arc of progress was exceptional and genuinely reset the role of women within football. The initiatives contained within this document weren’t happenstance, they were clear strategic choices designed to compound over time and to ensure stakeholders aligned to drive a transformational deal that was unique in Australian and world sport.
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