As we head towards the end of 2021 and Australian sport has its eyes set on 2022, Ministry of Sport will continue to reflect on the top five stories across major codes and categories for the year.

Here are the top Women in Sport stories for 2021.

5 – Women in Sport Summit 2021:

In April, Ministry of Sport’s annual Women in Sport Summit was confirmed and held on 25 June at USC Stadium, delivered in partnership with Sunshine Coast Council and Tourism and Events Queensland.

During the Summit, a multitude of sports business executives including Chelsea Warr, Richard Colbeck, Breeanna Brock and Pete Lock, among others spoke.

The Summit focused on what can be done to improve the sporting industry to better include women and discuss ways this was already being achieved.

4 – Equality and Inclusion of Women in Sport:

There was a major focus of inclusion in women sport during 2021.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games was one of the most important sporting events of the year and for the first time the number of female and male athletes was almost equal.

The gender pay gap between male and female sports was addressed in many leagues including Cricket Australia, 2022 Women’s Euro Championship and the NRLW.

There was a rise in female coaches in the A-League Women’s as well as government programs to help boost the leadership of women in sport.

Major broadcasting companies such as the ABC and Foxtel committed to more coverage of female sports, something lacking in the industry.

2021 also saw the focus of diversity within women’s sport, and for the first time, a woman was appointed chair of the Australian Sport Commission.

3 – Major International Sporting Events:

It was a big year for Australia securing major international women’s sporting events.

Australia and New Zealand were named hosts for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, with First Nations culture featured in the Cup’s logo.

Australia was also named the host for the 2027 Netball World Cup and the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup; both will be held in Sydney.

For women’s rugby, the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup, which will be held in New Zealand, was postponed to 2022 due to COVID-19.

2 – Sexual Assault and Mistreatment of Women in Sport:

There were multiple reports which came out throughout the year highlighting the sexual assault and mistreatment women in sport faced.

At the beginning of the year, the 2020 Tokyo Games committee president resigned after sexist comments during an Olympic committee meeting.

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) were accused of bullying, abuse and sexual harassment of gymnasts, with the AIS later releasing an official apology for their conduct.

Tennis star Peng Shuai was an alleged victim of sexual assault by a Chinese official and after speaking out about the issue faced persecution from the government.

This led to the Women’s Tennis association (WTA) suspending all events in China and Hong Kong.

However major sporting organisations such as Football Australia, Sport Integrity Australia and FIFA have launched investigations into the mistreatment of women in sport.

1 – Women’s Health in Sport:

There was a strong focus on women’s health both physically and mentally this year with multiple sporting organisations undertaking studies and implementing policies to better support women’s health.

The AFL released multiple studies on women’s health including brain injuries and mental health.

The AIS also led a major study into pregnancy and women in sport, which looked at supporting the physical and mental struggles of pregnancy.

2021 saw a strong focus on the mental health of women in sport with tennis, cricket, AFL and the Olympics releasing studies and plans to support women’s mental health.

To view all other editions of the Ministry of Sport 2021 in review series, click here, otherwise, keep an eye out on the Ministry of Sport website and social media channels for the next release in the series.