Photo: Damian White

Minister for Sport John Eren today joined Richmond Football Club chief executive Brendon Gale at Punt Road Oval, unveiling the Change Our Game campaign.

It’s all about encouraging the sector to challenge gender stereotypes and encourage more women and girls to reach their full potential.

Our reforms follow the Women and Girls in Sport and Recreation Inquiry – chaired by Richmond President Peggy O’Neal – which made a number of recommendations to help women get the opportunities they deserve in what can be male-dominated environments.

The Labor Government has invested $1 million to implement and fast track the recommendations, because increasing opportunities for women and girls changes their lives for the better.

We’ve also established a $10 million fund for women’s change rooms at grassroots clubs all over Victoria.

On the field, participation rates are soaring – but women are still under represented on boards, in administration roles and other leadership positions. We’re changing that, because we put people first.

We’ll work with state sporting associations to meet the target of 40 per cent of women in board positions in three years’ time. Many sporting boardrooms lack a balance of skills and ideas – and that’s because they lack diversity.

We’ve also appointed key state sporting association chief executives as Ambassadors of Change. They’ll use their positions and experience to empower more women and girls to secure the sport leadership roles they deserve.

The campaign features a new toolkit for sports organisations, complete with recruitment guidelines to help attract more women and girls to sports leadership roles.

For more information, visit www.changeourgame.vic.gov.au.