Football crosses class and age barriers. The barrister and the truckie can share a conversation about how Hawthorn played on the weekend and AFL is a great game that we are understandably proud of.
But what about gender?
Our efforts to achieve equality of pay and opportunity are still dire after decades of effort. Why are there so few women sitting on the executive? (Yes, the numbers the boardroom have increased because of quotas). BHP headquartered in Melbourne has only one woman on its executive team (Head of People). Why do we have such a big problem with domestic violence?
So what has this got to do with football? After all, women watch football.My recent experience with AFL culture has been as part of the local junior football club. It is the first time in my life that it is clearly socially unacceptable for women to walk up to a group of men at a social event or to watch the children’s game on a Sunday morning to chat. Women talk to women and men talk to men.
I now understand why it is so hard for women in Melbourne to get high level leadership positions when so many of our men have played AFL. After all, they have been indoctrinated with the idea that women exist to staff the kiosk, drive you to games and wash your muddy football gear. As you get older, women become fashion accessories, feed your ego and provide sex.
My experiences of being included on an equal basis has come for me from being in a social environment where I participate. Whether it is studying an engineering degree, or participating a bike ride or learning karate.
So I propose that for there to be gender equality in Melbourne, we need to have women playing football – not just being an accessory to the game.
So consider the social implications of letting your daughters play football. Ensure that your sons have experiences of being involved in activities where women participate equally so they don’t grow up thinking of their mothers and their future girlfriends and wives as being ‘accessories‘.
Let’s enjoy football and better relationships between men and women.
