Victorian budget’s funding cuts are bad news for women’s sport

Falcons president Jane Ryan said that the OWSR grant they received earlier this month will allow them to continue improving access to sport and encourage more women, girls and gender diverse people to give it a try.

“We’re really aware of what it takes to provide accessible facilities for girls and women. Not only to recruit them, but to retain them,” Ryan said. She calls the decision to defund the program “bewildering”.

“It’s one step forward, two steps back … I don’t really understand why you would think it was no longer necessary.”

Jane Ryan, Darebin Falcons president

“We’re used to the state government and local members being really supportive … it’s one step forward, two steps back … I don’t really understand why you would think it was no longer necessary,” Ryan said.

In response to the cuts, a spokesperson assured that the government remains committed to driving gender equality within sport.

“We will always support women and girls’ participation in sport and recreation. The functions of the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation will continue to be held within Sport and Recreation Victoria,” they said.

But for Ryan, having a dedicated space to support women is more important than ever. She said that too many sporting spaces continue to be dominated by men.

“There’s got to be a step-up in the amount of roles that are available for women. And in the first instance, in our experience, you have to force people to do it. You have to give them grants,” she said.

“We thought we were on a pathway to really addressing those things … girls think differently, play differently, need different things to be equitable.

“Sport is about making sure that everybody gets a change to get the health benefits and the mental health benefits. And that’s what we pride ourselves on,” Ryan said.

With Brittany Busch

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.