Susan Alberti building a road map for gender equality in sport

Women’s sport benefactor Susan Alberti hopes that in five years the boundaries holding back females in sport will have disappeared.

Victoria Uni Professor Clare Hanlon and Susan Alberti have combined to develop a road map for gender equality in sport. Picture: David Caird

Women’s football powerhouse Susan Alberti hopes the boundaries holding back girls and women in sport will have disappeared within the next five years.

“We have come so far, so quickly. To think it was 60 years ago I was told to go home and crochet and knit because girls don’t play sport,” the businesswoman said.

“Now little girls have the same opportunities as boys. I believe in five years’ time we won’t be having this discussion. If you look at NAB Auskick, there are now more girls playing than boys. Who would have thought that?

“Look at the cricketers; they are just such inspirational role models. We are on a path to big things. Great change.”

It is definitely a different era for young girls with big dreams. As part of Cricket Australia’s landmark agreement with its players and Australian Cricketers Association, an Australian women’s contracted player will earn an average of more than $194,000 this year.

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But to help sports that may be struggling, from the grassroots to the top, Alberti and Victoria ­University professor Clare Hanlon devised a “road map” to break down barriers in the way of women in sport.

The “National Roadmap; No boundaries for women and girls in sport” will be launched at the MCG this weekend at an International Women’s Day Forum to be held before the Women’s T20 World Cup final.

Alberti says she felt women were getting a “raw deal” so she met Hanlon to “make an impact” — the philanthropist made a large donation to the project to push for equality on the sporting field.

Hanlon and Alberti led the study and the Male Champions of Change Sport members have contributed to and supported it.

“I so often still see sports organisations at grassroots, state and ­national level really struggling to envisage what true equality looks like and how to get there,” Alberti said.

“Through our National Roadmap: No boundaries for women and girls in sport, we’ve set out a shared vision, a business case ­developed by PwC and a set of ­actions that can be used by sporting organisations at local, national and international level to help us drive change.

“Working with these industry leaders, we now have a comprehensive blueprint for gender equality that the entire sector can customise to their specific needs.

“Clare’s work on this has been amazing. I have loved working with Victoria University.”

Alberti, also the convener of the Australian Women in Sport ­Advisory group, believes the road map will break down barriers. “There should be no boundaries,” she said. “It should not be a privilege to play sport, it should be your right to play sport.

“It goes back to when I was a girl of 15 and I had to stop playing footy. I thought how unfair that was.

“When I had this opportunity with Victoria University, I knew I could make my mark in history.

“I could do something and get all these other organisations ­involved … which has been no mean feat, it’s been a big job to bring them all together with the Male Champions of Change. We are really on our way.”