Right: current women's AFL players are hopeful that their competition will soon be considered much more than a "curtain raiser" for men's matches, but there are claims that ingrained sexist attitudes in the AFL bureaucracy might hinder the growth of women's football.
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Arguments suggesting the new AFL women's competition is not an advance for women's sport
1. Most women are currently not interested in the AFL and the code is simply trying to extend its fan base, not assist sportswomen
Those who argue that the development of a women's AFL competition is not a significant advance for Australian sportswomen note that most Australian women are not interested in the competition.
The latest findings from Roy Morgan reveal that the proportion of Australian women aged 14 and over who support an AFL team slipped slightly from 35.6% to 33.8% between 2012 and 2015, as did the proportion who watch matches on TV (down fractionally from 34.0% to 33.4%).
It has further been noted that while the proportion of Australian women aged over 14 who play footy has always been very low, participation has decreased marginally since 2012 from 1.3% to 1.0%. This demonstrates that fewer women play Australian Rules than niche sports such as field hockey, archery, gymnastics, martial arts or ice/figure skating.
It has further been suggested that the AFL's recent moves to make the code more attractive to women as both spectators and players are not motivated by concern for women, but are merely part of an attempt to keep the code commercially viable.
In response to the suggestion that the new AFL women's competition had the capacity to lure women from support for established women's sporting competitions including netball, basketball, hockey, soccer, cricket and softball, AD Reidy, writing for The Roar, asked concernedly, 'Is the establishment of the new league primarily a business development opportunity aimed at increasing AFL club memberships, or is it based on building the game at a community level?'
In an opinion piece published in The Conversation on May 8, 2015, titled 'Female fans are AFL's secret weapon in drawing crowds', Tony Ward, a fellow in Historical Studies at the University of Melbourne, wrote, 'To be successful, footy codes have to both maintain existing fans and attract new fans. Women fans are a key part of the picture.'
Women are an important part of the fan base, with clear room for growth. Mothers are also needed to support their sons' decision to play AFL. In a very real sense the continued success of the AFL depends on attracting and retaining the support of women; however, critics have argued, the betterment of women supporters and players is not the AFL's primary objective.
2. The women will be playing within a substantially misogynistic culture
It is argued that the introduction of a professional women's competition within the AFL does not signal a fundamental change in the code's essentially misogynistic culture.
As one instance of this anti-woman ethos, two club presidents, Eddie McGuire at Collingwood and James Brayshaw at North Melbourne, encouraged each other in verbal abuse directed at The Age's chief football writer Caroline Wilson, 'joking' about drowning her.
In a comment published in Melbourne University's magazine Pursuit on June 21, 2016, the University's Professor Cathy Humphreys and David Gallant commented, 'The juxtaposition of McGuire's and Brayshaw's comments alongside the announcement of ... the fast-tracking of the women's franchise into the AFL begs the question: what sort of 'club' are women being encouraged to join?'
Humphreys and Gallant criticised the 'blokey' attitudes within the AFL which are hostile to women and the wider social implications of these attitudes. They stated, 'Violence against women occurs within this wider social context of attitudes, which legitimise abusive and humiliating comments as 'just a joke'. It invites bystanders to join in on a group culture that continues to normalise disrespect towards women as part of "being a bloke".'
Some commentators have noted that there is a conflict between the male bonding and group loyalty encouraged on field and the ethical, individually responsible behaviour that off field conduct protocols require of male players in their interaction of women.
It is also argued that there is a conflict between the influence of and media focus on AFL spokesmen such as Eddie McGuire and Sam Newman and the code's supposed rejection of their sexist attitudes.
On June 28, 2016, The Conversation published a comment by Suzanne Dyson, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, titled 'To eliminate misogyny, the AFL needs social change, not just crisis management'. Dyson stated, 'The likes of McGuire and Newman are...poster boys for an era that should have ended years ago. Yet they continue to have a powerful influence on others who are uncertain or who share their values about the place of women in society. They represent the tip of an ugly, misogynist iceberg.
Until the AFL is prepared to take a consistent, ethical position on sexism and misogyny in the game, incidents like this [McGuire's verbal abuse of Wilson] will continue to be a problem and contribute to harming the AFL's brand.'
In an opinion piece published in The Guardian on June 20, 2016, Stephanie Holt commented, '[W]omen are left wondering, how do we love this game, when the public rhetoric of its most prominent personalities is at best demeaning and at worst dangerous? No amount of white ribbons or pink ladies or women's teams will change that.'
In another opinion piece published in The Guardian on June 20, 2016, Russell Jackson, referring to the AFL's failure to reprimand McGuire for his comments about Wilson, stated, 'This is the real embarrassment for football - not that it's incapable of involving women, because it now does so in performative and often crowd-pleasing ways, but that its cult of personality and craven worship of bullies makes rank hypocrisy like this its default philosophical setting.'
3. The women players are being paid much less than male players
Critics of the new AFL women's competition claim that the rate of pay being offered the female players is discriminatory and does not renumerate their skills or potential fan-appeal at a level comparable to male players.
In an opinion piece written by Erin Riley and published in The Sydney Morning Herald on August 31, 2016, Riley claimed, 'When the AFL announced it would be launching its women's league in 2017, I, and countless other fans of women's footy, rejoiced...But the joy was short-lived: today we found out the majority of players would be paid just $5,000 for their 8-week season. Unlike the men's players, they will not be provided with private health insurance.'
The discrepancy between male and female pay rates has been stressed. Erin Riley has noted, 'A whole women's team, with a 25-player list, will be paid around $190,000. The average men's player earns $302,104 per season. Every single male player is paid a set fee of $3,605 per senior match paid, on top of their base salary.'
Riley has further explained, 'the women's season will be shorter: eight weeks of competition compared with the men's 22. But even on a per-match-payment basis, the women are getting paid substantially less than male players. For eight senior games, a male player will be paid $28,840 on top of his base salary. That bonus pay is more than even the highest-paid female player will get for her entire season.'
The Australian government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) director Libby Lyons has criticised the low pay rates being offered women AFL players as inequitable.
Ms Lyons stated, 'No matter the workplace, women should be paid the same as men for doing the same job.
Playing professional football is no different. By not paying male and female players equally, employers send a message to young girls and women that they are not as highly valued as men even when they are the top of their field.'
Critics have also argued that it is inequitable that women AFL players are not receiving health insurance as part of their remuneration package.
University of Technology Sydney women's sport and gender equality expert Dr Johanna Adriaanse has stated, 'If men receive health insurance as part of their contract the women should get the same, there is no doubt about that.'
Riley and other critics have claimed that without a higher wage rate the women's competition cannot be expected to thrive. She notes, 'Forget being full-time athletes year-round: this isn't even enough money to live on during the season. After years of being told to be patient, enough is enough. In 2017, there is no excuse for not paying players a full-time, living wage.'
In a comment published in Eureka Street on September 4, 2016, Erin Riley expanded on the damaging effects of the low pay rates being offered women playing in the AFL competition. Riley noted that the low pay rate would exclude many women from being able to play. She explained, 'In order to train three times a week, many players will be required to relocate closer to their clubs. This puts their day jobs in jeopardy, meaning only those who can afford to change jobs or take time off can afford to play. This has the potential to seriously skew the playing group towards those who are from higher socio-economic status.
It will also disproportionately exclude women in regional areas (which also disproportionately affects Indigenous women) and women who don't live in the states with a team.
Additionally, weekend and evening child care, when players are most likely to need it, costs substantially more than weekday child care. There is a strong likelihood that for women with caring responsibilities, the bulk of that meagre salary would be eaten up by child care costs. This has the effect of excluding women with caring responsibilities from participation in the league.
So the foundation for a genuinely inclusive league is not strong. Fair pay is an essential part of that: to ensure that women of disadvantaged backgrounds aren't excluded from participating in the league.'
4. Most coaches and administrators are male
Critics have noted that the power structure within the new female competition seems to favour men.
In a comment published in Eureka Street on September 4, 2016, Erin Riley noted the disproportionate number of men in power positions within the women's competition.
Riley writes, 'Of the seven coaches named so far to the women's league, only two - Fremantle's Michelle Cowan and Adelaide's Bec Goddard - are female.' Eleven days later when the last coach was announced, the number of female coaches remained at two.
The Adelaide Crows have appointed Bec Goddard; the Brisbane Lions have appointed Craig Starcevich; Carlton has appointed Damien Keeping; Collingwood have appointed Wayne Siekman; the Fremantle Dockers have appointed Michelle Cowan; the GWS Giants have appointed Tim Schmidt; Melbourne has appointed Michael Stinear and the Western Bulldogs have appointed Paul Groves. Thus, only 25 percent of the coaches in the women's competition are women.
Erin Riley argues, 'This dominance of male coaches again replicated the model in which women are accountable largely to men: both as coaches and in senior management roles.'
Riley explained the probable consequences of this, noting, 'If a leadership role in the women's league is seen as a stepping stone into coaching or administration in the men's competition and remains a pathway primarily for men, it will be a problem. The league needs to provide pathways for women to develop those skills in at least equal numbers to men. A women's league that is dominated by men off the field substantially undermines the project of developing opportunities for women in football.'
Riley argues that the power balance in the new competition is concerning, 'So while there are great opportunities for the AFL National Women's League to forge new ground and create a more inclusive competition, so far the signs haven't been positive. The groundwork seems to be in place for a competition where...and the off-field roles are occupied more by men than by women. Rather than challenging the paradigm of gender and sport in Australia, and recognising intersectionality and inclusiveness as vital parts of that, the league is perpetuating old power structures. Sure, it might get better later on. But there's no reason it can't be better from the start.'
5. The women's AFL games are being scheduled as though they were a second-rate competition
Some critics of the new AFL women's competition have argued that it is being introduced in a way that undermines it and suggests it is second-rate. The new women's competition will not be being showcased parallel with the men's competition. Instead it will begin with a two-month season in February and March, 2017.
In an opinion piece published on the 3AW internet site on May 2, 2016, Shane McInnes stated, 'The AFL's plan to hold the women's season during February and March doesn't achieve the desired objective of getting traditional AFL followers involved and behind this new concept.'
McInnes went on to explain, 'First, it's still summer ... Footy, is, was and always will be a winter game (and games that are played in February and early March, are rarely taken seriously).
Secondly, it's still cricket season...Why would you want to go head-to-head with what is already a juggernaut? As they say, you've got to pick your battles.
Thirdly, in February, families to head to the coast on weekends, not to suburban venues for a game of footy. Just the way it is.'
McInnes argues that there is a fourth and final reason why the manner in which the new competition is being introduced will undermine it. McInnes claims, 'You have to give fans a regular taste of women's football. Week in, week out. Let fans see what it has to offer. Let them see how entertaining it is.
Let the fans see that the women are as skilful, as athletic and as tough (maybe even tougher) than their male equivalent.
And, there is the perfect timeslot to do that and that's pre-game, as a curtain raiser to AFL Premiership season matches.'