Lisa Alexander column: AFL’s blokey culture is destroying female opportunity

Lisa Alexander is one of the most accomplished coaches in Australia yet she was subjected to horrific abuse for wanting to coach AFL. She takes us inside the North Melbourne application.

The sports coach development system in Australia is not fit for purpose and will not be until we embrace diversity in all its forms.

Sexism in coaching in this country is holding many women back and it’s time for change.

There should be no closed shops to coaches of either sex so why - Daisy Pearce aside - are the Australian Rules Football’s Coaching ranks still confined to men only?

Why is there such a shortage of opportunity for women wanting to pursue their next coaching challenge?

In the AFLW we have seen a world of improvement with four of the 18 teams now coached by women.

We can only hope to see that kind of continued growth in the NRLW which this year expanded to 10 teams with just one woman in charge.

Super Netball is dominated by women in leadership - Dan Ryan being the only male coach - but the presence of a man has in no way been questioned or commented on in the same way as a woman in “a man’s world”.

There remains a stunning lack of women in sport coaching across all codes and the rest of the world is not immune to the issue.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is currently happening in our backyard with just 12 out of 32 nations coached by a woman.

What kind of message is this sending?

The issue will not be fixed solely by special programs or fast tracking, it will take a monumental cultural shift and a consistent behaviour change in sport from top to bottom.

Lisa Alexander is one of the most accomplished coaches in Australia

APPLYING AT NORTH

A few years back I made headlines for throwing my hat in the ring for the vacant coaching role at North Melbourne men’s AFL team.

I was fresh out of coaching the Diamonds to a World Cup final, I had 30 years of High Performance coaching under my belt and I was attracted to the role.

I couldn’t have predicted the backlash and reaction my application would spark.

That I dared to dip my toe in the blokey world of AFL unleashed a storm of abuse.

Immediately my motives were questioned.

One social media follower said: “as a fellow netballer and woman, I think you are arrogant to believe that you can coach Australian rules football, what would the players think, and other AFLW Coaches?”

That kind of feedback was the tip of the iceberg. Some of the other reaction would be unprintable.

As I tried to explain to the media, who were actually quite supportive rather than judgmental and rude, I believed I had the high performance credentials required of the position.

Sure I didn’t have an elite playing background in AFL and I didn’t have a penis - another must have in coaching it seems - but the rest of the requirements outlined in the job brief? I had them covered.

I know I was an outside chance for the role but the reaction to me even applying highlights everything that is wrong with the concept of a woman coach in this country.

It was like I was an alien applying for the role.

North Melbourne will never know what they missed out on

Now North Melbourne will never know what they missed out on.

I have a friend that works in Australian Rules Football, and the blunt response I got from them regarding North was ‘you haven’t played football so you haven’t earned the right to apply for a role.’

I found the feedback hard to digest but it’s reflective of the closed-mindedness of the sport.

There is a pecking order within the sport itself - outsiders have no chance. They don’t respect other sports.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

Coaching is a competitive business and a constantly evolving role yet we see the same names linked with these jobs every time one comes up. People want to hold onto what they know and the status quo instead of asking the question, what will we need in 5-10 years?

Signing a new head coach has become like the player market. It seems clubs want the most decorated or the biggest name not necessarily the best fit for the role and the players.

Perhaps it’s time we started calling them managers not coaches because they are in fact there to look after people and run a performance program, not a specialise in every intricacy.

I felt there was a distinct lack of curiosity and objectivity from the North Melbourne hierarchy at the time.

I wasn’t even afforded an interview, I simply received an email saying that I needed to “earn my stripes”.

And herein lies the problem. How do women earn their stripes at any level given the lack of opportunity?

A boys culture in sport will always count against women

Being told to go back to community sports or AFLW was disrespectful.

There is a blindness to women being involved.

Instead of focusing on why I can’t coach AFL, why don’t they look at the reasons why I can and what I could contribute to a different way of coaching?

It is a system failure not a single woman’s failure.

It’s not just the “blokiness” of sport that counts against us. There remains a societal pressure that women still are the primary carers and the “home duties” burden falls to us.

The “traditional” role of women contributes to making careers like coaching not impossible, but certainly challenging. We are burdened by guilt and expectation, and that is a real barrier.

Until we truly acknowledge Women in society to be able to achieve anything and move on from the “boys club” environment of sport in Australia, we will ignore 50 per cent of our available coaching talent.

I long for the day that we can talk about coaches solely for the job they are doing and not their gender.

It’s long overdue that talent and ability to coach is what defines someone’s suitability. When that happens, we will have achieved a system that rewards skill and talent not mediocrity.

Enough of the “this is the way it’s always been”. It’s time for change.