Women's sport must not bear brunt
of COVID-19 cutbacks: Steggall
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[May 14, 2020]
By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Professional athletes in
all sports have been impacted by the global shutdown caused by
COVID-19 but women may end up the biggest losers due to ingrained
bias and discrimination, Australia's Winter Olympic trailblazer Zali
Steggall has said.
Women have enjoyed some hard-won gains in elite sports in recent
years, with pro leagues starting up in a number of countries and
growing support for their fight for pay parity.
But Steggall, a former world champion skier who won Australia's
first individual Winter Olympic medal at the 1998 Nagano Games,
fears those gains could be eroded as cash-strapped federations cut
costs to protect men's competitions.
She pointed to the fact that even in Australia, which is often held
up as a world leader in investing in women's sport, discussions
about restarting competitions have focused almost exclusively on the
male domain.
"It is very concerning. It comes from that kind of unconscious bias
that men are supposed to be the provider or the main breadwinner of
the household versus the females," the 46-year-old told Reuters in
an interview.
"So all attempts are made to ensure that (men) are able to continue
in their profession and get back to work.
"We see that from our sports ... that there’s less concern about
female professionals being able to get back to their livelihoods."
Cuts to women's sport have already been felt around the world.
Colombian soccer club Independiente Santa Fe sparked an outcry last
month when they said they would suspend their female players'
contracts but give only pay-cuts to the men.
Australia's National Rugby League (NRL) has lobbied hard to restart
the suspended men's top-flight later this month, even as the clubs
ponder whether they have the money to maintain a presence in the
women's elite NRLW competition.
The Auckland-based Warriors, the only New Zealand club in the NRL,
said their women's team might not survive budget cuts.
Warriors Chief Executive Cameron George said last week that their
women's programme was an "additional spend".
"The women’s game has grown significantly in the New Zealand rugby
league landscape over the last couple of years and we’ve invested
heavily in it," he said.
"We take that very seriously but it’s also an additional spend that
we’re going to have to reconsider."
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Australia's Zali Steggall holds up the gold medal she won in the
women's slalom race at the World Alpine Skiing Championships
February 13. Steggall clocked 1:33.97 to win the race.
FUNDING SQUEEZE
New Zealand's rugby union federation confirmed on Monday that it
would start a domestic competition for the country's five men's
Super Rugby teams from next month but has yet to confirm any 2020
fixtures for the women's game.
Rugby Australia, which is battling to stave off a financial crisis,
is also planning a domestic competition for its Super Rugby teams in
July, while conducting a review of its women's high performance
programmes.
RA's Head of Women's Rugby Jilly Collins said the federation was
committed to maintaining the women's professional game.
"There will also be a financial element of that to look at where we
can save money where possible or look at how we might do things in a
slightly different way," Collins told Reuters.
"But certainly our board remains committed and supportive of the
women’s game and have expressed that commitment."
The global shutdown has thrown the spotlight on sports' financial
management and revealed the parlous state of reserves at a number of
federations where boards and senior management positions are
dominated by men.
The funding squeeze has fanned fears of budget cuts for community
and grass-roots programs which promote women's sport and provide
access for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
"I’ve found it very concerning to understand that all these
professional codes (sports) have very little backup plan for a rainy
day," said Steggall, a sports lawyer and federal member of
parliament.
"Granted these are exceptional circumstances, and it’s hard to say
they should have foreseen (COVID-19) coming.
"But it is concerning to think that operationally, they were
managing so close to the bone."
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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