It’s been a big year for women’s sports, but there are mountains still to climb

It’s been one hell of a year. 

As 2023 comes to an end, I keep thinking about the strides in women’s sports in Canada. For example, we’re on the cusp of the new Professional Women’s Hockey League starting and the excitement is growing.  

But along with the steps forward, one can’t help reflect on the barriers to progress that women here and all around the world must deal with. The piles of not-so-nice matter that had to be navigated and the way in which people mobilized to do it. 

There were profound losses and frustrations, but then there were historic moments and beacons of light. In one year,  Canada’s women’s soccer team went from a poor result in the SheBelieves Cup to testifying about maltreatment in front of the Heritage Committee in Ottawa to exiting the World Cup in shambles after the group stages to joyfully qualifying for the 2024 Olympics in Paris when even superpowers like Sweden and England failed to make it. Then they feted and said thank you to the greatest Canadian soccer player to ever lace up her boots. 

There are three major lessons that I have learned this year and they are that growth is not linear in women’s sports, dirty laundry must be aired, and there are tremendous examples of bravery and resilience in front of our eyes and in our backyards. Yes, the national soccer program is an example of all three, but even beyond soccer in Canada we see these themes woven throughout the past 12 months. 

For equity-deserving groups, no amount of work or accomplishment comes easily. There is planning, strategizing, mobilizing. We have not come close to adequately combatting systems of racism, nor have we resolved pay gaps and inequities nor made everything accessible in a proper way.

But there are moments to pause and take deep breaths and understand that fighting sexism or racism is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. No type of progress will look the same. Perhaps our networks have grown and advocates and fans of women’s sport have grown. PWHL franchises are selling out of seasons tickets before the league has even begun. That’s a win. 

There may be advances in some aspects, but there is stagnation in others. There has not been sufficient transparency with Hockey Canada’s disastrous handling of sexual assault case from 2018, and there is still an unwillingness to discuss it because the results of a third-party investigation is under appeal. Well, that doesn’t feel very forward-thinking or just, does it? 

At the same time, sponsors for Hockey Canada have climbed aboard the train again, just ahead of the world junior championships in Sweden. That also feels unsettling because for a system to change, although it can’t do it overnight, there must be a sense of some type of cultural shift. I’m not quite sure we are there yet.  

Attaining justice in sport doesn’t always look the same either. When Luis Rubiales was finally suspended by FIFA for three years due to his inappropriate actions at the Women’s World Cup trophy ceremony, I thought accountability was going to be a little easier to achieve. Only to find out that the Moroccan Football Federation decided to hire Jorge Vilda, a former compatriot of Rubiales, and the disgraced former coach of the Spain’s women’s team who had been the cause for a horrific environment for the players.

I was furious because this man should not be anywhere near women’s football and was hired by a federation that I have previously lauded for being a blueprint for change and investment in the women’s game. What a complete mess. 

And then there are the places where the sun is shining and light is coming in. In Iran, women have been banned from stadiums since 1979. But this past week, women were permitted to buy tickets and attend the Tehran derby. This is huge news for those in the women’s soccer space who have been advocating for years. 

That being said, In the sports space, we don’t have to look far to find people with stories of resilience and courage who take it upon themselves to demand and create change. While the soccer team can be filed under “brave,” there are also individuals who contribute in ways we can’t measure. This past week, I’ve seen Trinity Ellis, a Métis athlete, bring her identity to her sport to encourage the widening of her sport into her community.  

I also witnessed a colleague at Rogers Sportsnet, Ailish Forfar, come forward about abuse she has survived in sport. While Forfar’s public disclosure was difficult and I’m sure overwhelming, her willingness to come forward and address an issue that has been plaguing our society and sport is generous, brave and offers hope. Forfar connected survivors and made people feel less alone.  

One of the most devastating aspects of experiencing abuse is feeling isolated in fear and shame. Forfar used social media to offer survivors hope and possibility of seeking justice and for sharing her lived experience. What she has done will undoubtedly save lives. And her actions and presence fortify a space that is continuously growing and healing. 

We don’t always see justice in the way we want, but connecting people in sport and working toward airing any laundry is a must. A linen metaphor seems apt because we can’t freshen what we are wrapped in if we don’t take it out and air it. We can not clean anything if we don’t assess what needs to be done and then go at it with a scoop of OxiClean. Sure, many feel like either setting the pile on fire or that a huge dump of bleach might be the best approach, but the point is that for everyone out there trying to make a difference, the results don’t come fast and there may be different approaches to doing things. 

But even if the load is heavy, there is great benefit of stopping and marveling at every process that has been completed and every step taken toward betterment. 

I can’t help but try to feel hopeful and that this past year, although bumpy at times, prepares us for what is yet to come. Bumps aren’t always that bad; they teach us how to ski over moguls, right? 

As for my part, I will continue to look to brave leaders, athletes, media personalities and communities of fans in the sports space for insight and inspiration. And maybe put my laundry away when it’s done instead of waiting six business days to get that chore finished.