With the new year well and truly under way, footy seasons kicking off and the usual monotony of life pulling focus, International Women's Day (IWD) came racing upon me once again, like it does every year. But this time it had me thinking 'What is there left to talk about? Haven't we said it all before? Isn't women's sport already making progress? Isn't it already in the spotlight and garnering more attention than ever before?' This is both true and false at the same time.
Like most, I spend my time before bed or quiet hours on the couch doomscrolling Instagram and TikTok. Usually my feed features sport, funny skits and all things Korea, but every now and then I'm hit with "anti-woke" clips, the latest from "SkinnyTok" and "red pill" anti-women videos. Alongside these posts comes the many disturbing comments that follow. For many women -- particularly female athletes -- they're usually more than ugly, but threatening and harmful.
Even the United States women's hockey team isn't safe with their President Donald Trump recorded making disrespectful comments towards the team following their Winter Olympics gold medal, while celebrating the men's gold medal success.
In a time that feels more divided than ever, these videos have been a solid reminder of the importance of IWD and the continued steps that need to be taken, while this year's international theme "Balance the scales" has also reiterated just how far there still is to go for the world, and in particular sport, to be fairer, safer and more equitable for women.
For the last decade women's sport has grown extensively in Australia. From amateur leagues to semi-professional, and for a small few, fully professional. Facilities are improving slowly, broadcast numbers are on the up and more little girls are playing sports than ever before. It's important we celebrate these achievements, and the women who have worked tirelessly to get us to this stage, but there's still so much work to be done.
As the Matildas ran out on Sunday night for their final Asian Cup pool clash against South Korea at Sydney's Accor Stadium -- the same venue they opened their incredible 2023 World Cup campaign against Ireland in front of a sold out 75,700 strong crowd -- 60,200 fans packed into the stadium once more to witness the side draw 3-3 and secure their place in the knockout rounds.
And while the AFC Asian Cup committee have every right to celebrate the clash becoming the highest-attended match in Women's Asian Cup history, I can't but think Football Australia missed a trick not producing a special IWD event for the game, something akin to Cricket Australia's incredible effort to bring Katy Perry to Melbourne for the T20 World Cup final -- although perhaps not to that scale -- to celebrate the team and the women involved in the sport.
But while the Matildas continue to draw strong crowds it can't be ignored how FA has failed to capitalize on their growth post their historic run at the World Cup just under three years ago.
It's hardly a new topic of conversation after many questioned FA's efforts in the years following the tournament, but last year's internal Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) report on A-League Women was especially damning.
From the highs of millions watching the Matildas on screens and packed-out stadiums, and the growth of ALW crowd numbers in the season following, the report has revealed the ALW is now the least preferred league amongst its players leading to a significant player drain, while their minimum salary -- once one of the highest in women's sport in Australia -- is now one of the lowest.
According to the report the passage forward is obvious: "without urgent investment and a plan to transition to fulltime professionalism by next season, the League risks... continuing the damaging cycle of part-time commitments on players and compromising its connection with fans.
"The business case is clear - the smart money is on women's sport and especially football. With the Asian Cup in Australia kicking off in a little over 100 days, the game can take the necessary leap to fulltime professionalisation and capitalise on the biggest opportunity in Australian sport."
Given FA's and the A-League's poor financial situation -- FA reported a $8.5 million loss in their 2024/25 report -- it's perhaps not surprising the code is struggling to convert their women's league to full professionalism, but the same cannot be said for rival codes AFLW and NRLW.
As noted by PFA, the smart money is on women's sport, and over the last 10 years sporting codes across Australia have discovered this for themselves, acknowledging there was 50% of the population they had failed to truly tap into, either as players or as paying fans.
Women's competitions were quickly established. From Super Rugby Women's, NRLW, AFLW, the women's Big Bash League, to the new era of Super Netball, women's sport began to take over and sporting bodies were lauded for their initiative. Incremental pay rises were seen across most, parental cover developed for some, better facilities established, while most recently the Wallaroos enjoyed business class flights to the UK for the Rugby World Cup.
But there has been more than the odd hiccup along the way.
In the case of AFLW, expanding egregiously with what seemed like little thought, racing to 18 teams without a full home-and-away season or the correct growth of talent in the levels below, while the sporting body continues to fail to establish the competition's place in the sporting calendar. Women's bodies continue to be battered with 15 players requiring ACL surgery by Round 3 alone in 2025, while the players continue to face vile rhetoric online, all while balancing work, family, studies and training.
At the same time, the sport has enjoyed a 200% increase in female player numbers since 2017, with female players accounting for 22% of player registrations at grassroots level in 2025, while more than 125,000 women and girls play community level football. And despite the ever-changing timeslot, viewership continues to rise.
Meanwhile, the NRL took a softer approach, slowly building the NRLW into one of the best women's leagues in the country, while the women's State of Origin series has turned itself into one of the biggest women's domestic sporting events in Australia with a reported 2 million people tuning into Game 2 of the series in 2025.
The NRLW Grand Final also enjoyed a massive increase in viewership with a reported audience of 1.03 million tuning in on Nine, up 36% year-on-year (it was also broadcast on Foxtel). Include the 46,288 strong crowd that attended the NRLW Grand Final and the record 26,000 who attended Game 1 of the SOO series and it's clear there's an appetite for women's rugby league throughout the country.
And yet, neither code has elevated their competitions to fulltime. Reporting a profit of $65.8 million through 2025, the AFL coffers are full with a cash balance of $230 million, meanwhile the NRL registered a $64.5 million surplus, growing their balance sheet to over $387 million.
A closer look at both codes will also have you noting that for women's competitions there are very few in top positions. From boardrooms to coaches the AFL continues to be dominated by men with only five of the 18 sides coached by women in 2025 - likely reduced to four with Port Adelaide coach Lauren Arnell stepping down ahead of the 2026 season.
The NRL is no better, with just one NRLW side in 2025 coached by a woman, while the Queensland Maroons and NSW Origin sides will both be coached by men in 2026 (it should be noted the Jillaroos are coached by Jess Skinner). Rugby faces similar problems with not one Super Rugby Women's side coached by a woman, while the first women's coach of the Wallaroos recently stepped down following reports Rugby Australia were cutting the women's budget. Yet again the door appears open with a door jam wedged behind it for women, while for many men, the role as a women's coach remains just a stepping stone to higher honours -- coaching men.
It has me questioning how long sporting codes will continue to elevate themselves off the backs of women? Whether that be the millions of hours of volunteering women provide at grassroots level, to the players on the pitch forced to balance playing with studies, work and childrearing, and the work of influencers and players selling their sport on social media with endless edits.
One only needs to look at the Australian Olympic team and the incredible success the women brought to the country in 2024 with 14 of the 18 golds won by women, while they contributed 60% of the total 53 medals won. Our Winter Olympic team enjoyed similar numbers with women contributing two of the three gold -- it was an equal split for total medals between men and women -- and yet for many of our female athletes they're struggling to take home a living wage.
We're clearly still very far away from a fairer, safer and more equitable sporting culture for women.
But as I go back to my nightly doomscrolling, quickly swiping through endless "brain-rot" content, I find joy in the clips celebrating women's success in sport, from grassroots through to professional, and most recently the Winter Olympics and Women's Asian Cup. Clips of fathers elevating their daughters, supporting their sporting journeys or labelling themselves 'girl dads', also bring me joy and leaves me believing the future for women's sport is bright.
There are still many steps to be taken, but the pathway is clear.