Letter of the Day

Change kicked aside

NINE years ago, your front page pictured four prominent Victorian male leaders as “Champions of Change”, including then then AFL boss Andrew Demetriou.

With four daughters, Demetriou asserted that creating equal opportunities for females was critical in their development as strong and respected leaders.

Yet, “an alliance of female footy powerbrokers are (still) calling for real change to help level the playing field” (“Why no jobs for the girls?”, HS, 20/9).

Certainly, some significant changes have occurred-the AFLW, female club presidents and, despite issues of harassment and abuse, more female umpires.

But the reality of no female senior AFL coach or top AFL executive demands a genuine appraisal as to why women are not being considered as capable and as clever as their male counterparts across the spectrum of Aussie Rules.

Affording women real equal opportunity can be complex, with both conscious and unconscious assumptions and attitudes often obfuscating outcomes. Decisions based on merit, experience and knowledge of the game can be difficult.

But surely, it must be time to dismiss outdated second-class stereotypes of women to ensure that women and girls do have a chance to compete with males throughout our game.