“They play like year 10 girls.”

Marty Sheargold, a sports commentator, made this remark about the Matildas on Triple M only a couple of weeks ago. 

My name is Rio, and today I’m here to talk about the pay gap inequalities between male and female sporting heroes.

Imagine training tirelessly day after day after day, to be the best in your sport, only to find out that you're getting paid less just because of your gender. That’s not right, is it?

Well, take Tayla Harris for example, an AFLW player who formerly played for the Carlton Football Club and only recently moved to Melbourne Demons. She’s known for her incredible kicking ability and because of this has become one of the most famous players ever known to play the game.

Over 8 years of playing AFLW, she earned $500,000 - Now, the reason I don’t exaggerate this is because it’s not as much as you think. $500,000 in 8 years is $62,000 per year. The average Australian plumber makes $95,000 per year. That’s a $33,000 difference!

Now, compare that to Nat Fyfe, a male footballer, who plays for Fremantle. In his first 8 years, he earned $5 million. That means Tayla Harris earned only 10% of Nat Fyfe’s salary. 

But it’s not just the pay gap; it’s also the way women’s sports are treated in the media. Even David Worner, an Australian cricketer, said this, “The reason the pay gap exists is because women’s sport doesn’t generate as much revenue as men’s sport.”

What he means by this is that the pay gap exists because women don’t attract as many fans as men do, causing them to not generate as much money. 

This is a reason why women are paid less, but it’s just an excuse. It doesn’t mean we don't do anything about it.

If women’s sports had the same media coverage as men’s sports, they would attract more fans and make more money. Take Matildas, for example, who showed incredible talent in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Their games brought in millions of viewers. But still didn’t get the same amount of attention as men.

So, why should we, young female athletes, be encouraged to play for a league that won’t even pay us properly? 

It’s time for change now.

But how do we do that exactly?

Well, I’m planning to get signatures for a petition that I’ve made so that we can send it to the AFL and AFLW to ask the question that is all on our minds right now: Why is there a pay gap?

If you’re a boy, a girl of any age, I need your help! You can help by going onto your computers, opening the email I sent you all, and writing your full name if you want to be part of the petition.

We all know that women’s sports are just as important, exciting, and deserve the same amount of attention as men’s sports.

It’s time for a real change now.

Thank you for listening.