AFL announces Advisory Group and Competition Committee additions to grow women’s game

With community competitions beginning over the weekend, the AFL has announced the appointment of a Leadership Advisory Group to provide guidance and assist it in delivering on the outcomes set forth in its Women and Girls Game Development Action Plan.

Aiming to create equal opportunities for women to play, coach, umpire, officiate, administer and govern the game, the Group will focus on the actions as they relate to leadership roles for women in the game at a community level, a key area of the Women and Girls Action plan, and will help to deliver the AFL’s Women’s Football Vision to strive for equal participation and representation by the end of this decade.

The Leadership Advisory Group will be Co-chaired by AFLW pioneer and women’s sport advocate Professor Susan Alberti AC and AFL Executive General Manager - Game Development Rob Auld and comprises of:

• Professor Susan Alberti AC (Co-Chair)
• Rob Auld (Co-chair) - AFL 
• Amber Banfield - WAFC Board Member, Western Australia
• Tamara Bardon - Head of Human Resources, BHP Mitsubishi Alliance, Queensland
• Kerrie Brewer - Hawthorn Executive General Manager Development, Infrastructure and Government Relations, Victoria
• Helen Langenberg - Tasmania's Department of State Growth, Sport and Recreation
• Meghan McDonald - Geelong Cats AFLW Captain
• Helen Ockerby - Executive director WA Country Football League. Chair of the Kimberley Football Advisory Group, Western Australia
• Rebecca Randazzo - Head Coach QAFLW Coorparoo FC, Queensland
• Ben Scales - Chief Executive, Mid Murray Council, South Australia
• Kerry Turner - NSW Office of Sport, Participation and Partnerships

The advisory group will support efforts to address the gender balance in leadership in all community football leagues and clubs including NAB AFL Auskick and AFL schools’ programs, as well as in coaching and umpiring. Key outcomes, which the group will support, include: 

• Collating and sharing case studies of women in leadership positions 
• Delivering an online 'Women in Leadership' series for community leagues & clubs 
• Establishing a community network to champion women in leadership 
• Establishing incentives and/or quotas for women in leadership positions
• Expanding on established resources inclusive of, but not limited to, the AFLVIC Female charter and National Female Community Guidelines to provide guidelines and checklists for inclusive environments across playing, coaching, umpiring, administration, and volunteering. 
• Establish a best practice framework for leagues and community clubs to include, advance and increase the visibility of women in leadership within their football communities.

Explaining that the appointment of the advisory group is another tangible step toward meeting the AFL’s gender equity targets across community football, Auld stated "we are in the first phase of the Women and Girls Action Plan, which has seen the significant investment made by the AFL into community football have an immediate impact on the representation of female leadership in our game.

“We need to provide the best possible environments for women and girls in order to accelerate growth across umpiring, coaching, administering and playing, all supporting our aspiration of equal participation and representation across all levels of community football by 2030.

“We are already seeing tangible results with increases in participation. The AFL offered a grant funding program in Victoria to drive more women and girls teams that resulted in three new competitions, 11 new clubs and more than 900 new women and girls playing our game. 

“Another example is the Coates Talent League’s regional leadership group, which has increased from eight% of full-time female staff in 2022, to 48% of leadership roles occupied by females in 2023.

Noting that the advisory group will work together to help the AFL deliver on their commitment, Professor Alberti commented “we want our great game to be the first choice for women and girls, in all areas, from playing, coaching, umpiring and administration - and it’s our role to provide the support and pathways to ensure this happens.”

The appointment of the Women and Girls Game Development Leadership Advisory Board is the most recent development in the AFL’s bid to increase female representation and participation at all levels of the game and follows the $5 million upfront commitment for the next three years, to support the first phase of the action plan.

Lower image: Professor Susan Alberti AC.