Australian hockey’s gender pay gap closes as funding boost brings Hockeyroos 22-woman squad back together in Perth

The cultural issues and Tokyo failure that left Australia’s women’s hockey program lagging behind the men are in the rearview as the Hockeyroos’ Paris Olympic hopes get a big boost.

Star Hockeyroos striker Rosie Malone has welcomed a funding boost that has helped close the sport’s gender pay gap. Picture: Simon Watts/bwmedia.co.nz

The Hockeyroos are finally getting the gang back together and the gender pay gap with the Kookaburras is about to be closed.

After a tumultuous period of instability and cultural issues in the women’s program that culminated in nearly half of its Federal funding gouged on the back of Olympic failure in Tokyo, the Hockeyroos are beginning to reap rewards of a reset that has them eyeing a medal in Paris.

The savage cuts resulted in salary inequity between the Hockeyroos and the fully-funded men’s Kookaburras’ program and staff cuts that combined to force close to a third of the 22-woman squad to train in their home states.

But a cash injection, understood to be in the hundreds of thousands out of the Australian Sports Commission’s Olympic preparation fund, has allowed HA to reunite its women’s cohort at the Perth-based high performance unit.

It’s welcome news to star striker Rosie Malone, who has been training on the Gold Coast while working full time at a private school to make ends meet.

“There are definitely challenges being away from the team, one of them was staying connected and ensuring everyone, whether they were in Perth or interstate, was having the same focus,” Malone said.

Rosie Malone has been living, training and working on the Gold Coast but will get the chance to shift her focus to the Paris Olympics. Picture: Simon Watts/bwmedia.co.nz

“Going back to Perth next year will be challenging because I have a great job at a private school on the Gold Coast and work full-time, so moving back will mean I will have to look for a new job.

“This is why this funding … is so important as it allows us to earn more and be able to train all together.”

HA boss David Pryles said the funding boost was recognition of the work undertaken by the sport’s new regime to rejuvenate the women’s program after it adopted all 29 recommendations out of a damning 2020 review into the Hockeyroos toxic culture.

“We did a survey and, hands down from a Hockeyroos perspective, the overwhelming sentiment was, to be successful, we need to be centralised,” Pryles said.

“This is a recognition that we’re on the right track and, what it allows us to do is, come January 1, they’ll all be together, training as a group, day in, day out, in the lead up to Paris, and the athlete payment will be on par with the men.”

Australian hockey is on the cusp of a new generation of world class talent, with seven players selected for this year’s FIH Junior World Cup — aged 21 and under — having played for the Hockeyroos, five of which are part of the elite program.

The Hockeyroos were the only team to beat the powerhouse Netherlands this year and are ranked No.2 in the world. The national team squad features five players 21 and under who will play in this year’s junior World Cup.

Originally published as Australian hockey’s gender pay gap closes as funding boost brings Hockeyroos 22-woman squad back together in Perth