Australian Rugby commits to gender equality

The Australian Rugby Union has made a public commitment to ensuring gender equality and respect at all levels of the game, from the field to the boardroom, by today signing Our Watch’s Leadership Statement.

Our Watch is an organisation driving nation-wide change in the culture, behaviours and attitudes that underpin violence against women and their children. Australian Rugby, AFL, NRL and Netball Australia are working together with Our Watch to eliminate violence against women and their children by promoting women’s participation and opportunities, challenging gender stereotypes and roles, challenging violence supportive attitudes and behaviours and encouraging respectful, healthy and equal relationships on and off the field.

Australian Rugby has made commitments across four pillars – public advocacy, organisation development, leadership, and education and training – to drive this cultural change.

ARU Chief Executive Bill Pulver explains “we all have a role to play in ending violence against women and their children in this country, and as a national sporting community we are in a unique position to impact change.”

“It’s important that rugby uses its influence to advocate for equality, respect and non-violence on and off the field.

“Australian Rugby, the NRL, AFL and Netball Australia have a huge collective reach, and all of us here today are advocating for greater female participation in sport, from the grassroots level to the boardroom. We are also committed to ensuring our policies and practices internally and externally are based on equality.”

The Our Watch leadership statement aligns with Australian Rugby’s Strategic Plan which aims to break down perceptions that rugby is male-dominated by bringing more women in rugby, whether they are players, officials, administrators, staff or executives.

Key ARU initiatives include using the men’s and women’s national teams to champion gender equality, using rugby’s digital channels to run social awareness campaigns, and using accessible, high quality training programs across all levels rugby that reach players, coaches, officials, administrators and executives.

Click here to read the Australian Rugby Union’s Leadership Statement.

Australia’s women’s national rugby team, the Wallaroos, has secured Buildcorp as naming rights partner of the team and upcoming Women’s National XV’s Championships.

It’s the first time in Australian Rugby history that the Wallaroos and Women’s National’s XV’s have had a naming rights partner.

For Buildcorp, the sponsorship increases its involvement in the sport having already taken the naming rights to the domestic National Rugby Championship.

Image: Buildcorp will be the Wallaroos first-ever new naming rights sponsor.

17th July 2014 - BUILDCORP GAMES NAMING RIGHTS FOR NEW AUSTRALIAN RUGBY TOURNAMENT