AFL Women's

• A long, competitive recruitment process to name a new Australian Football League chief executive has concluded with the appointment of an AFL insider.
• By its own admission, the AFL has chosen a safe pair of hands in Andrew Dillon.

The bold pick: a woman in the role

• The AFL had a chance to name a woman to the role, with an excellent candidate in Kylie Watson-Wheeler.
• The AFL continues to see double-digit growth in women’s grassroots football participation, in addition to sizeable commercial gains and future possibilities emanating from the AFL Women’s League.
• Of the eight current serving AFL commissioners, two are also women (Helen Milroy and Gabrielle Trainor).
• But only time will tell if we will see real change in the codes’ hiring decisions.

Sexual harassment on and off the field

• Sports journalist Michael Warner’s 2021 book, The Boys Club: Power, Politics and the AFL, unearthed numerous egregious claims about the game’s treatment of female administrators.
• As is often the case in male-dominated organisations, women’s voices have been quieted in the AFL through the use of payouts and nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) when they’ve made complaints of sexual harassment or bullying.
• There are dangers for women on the field, as well.

Racism and homophobia need to be dealt with, too

• Although he mentioned getting “the right outcome at the right time”, his statement lacked any mention of the deep personal costs and ongoing trauma for the people involved.
• And last month, in a span of less than 24 hours, racial and homophobic abuse was directed at four separate AFL players.
• Will his leadership be bold enough and his team diverse enough to put real action behind the promises?