Bengaluru: World over, the issue of disparity in wages for men and women is the talking point. In the world of sport, this inequality is excruciatingly apparent.
Women’s basketball in Australia lagged behind other sports like cricket and netball in terms of setting a bottom line on the minimum wage. However, earlier this year, the Women’s National Basketball League put into place a $7,500 wage floor, sparking progress in the movement for better renumeration for sportswomen.
Star center Marianna Tolo, who is representing the Opals at the ongoing Fiba Asia Women’s Cup, said that inflated TV coverage has been a factor.
“Things are finally starting to take place. We have a minimum wage now and coverage of the WNBL on Fox Sports. This (tournament) for us is shown on Fox Sports back in Australia as well. We’ve still got a long way to go. We need more support for women’s sport no matter what sport it is,” the Canberra Capitals player said.
The sum of $7,500 per year isn’t enough, but it’s still come a long way from the paltry sums the women hoopsters used to be paid, as recently as 2015. “($7,500) is not sufficient to make a career in Australia. Most other girls will work or study while playing. The salary wage, we’re hoping, will increase year by year,” Tolo added.
Towering at 195 centimetres, the 28-year-old has amassed a great deal of experience playing the WNBL, WNBA in the US, and clubs in France.
After enduring the disappointment of missing out on the 2012 London Olympic squad, Tolo claims playing away from home broadened her horizons, and she encourages more players to go out and do the same. “For me, making a change and going to play overseas made a massive difference in my life.”
The Opals have shuffled their pack a fair bit since the shock loss to Serbia in the quarter-finals of the Rio 2016 Olympics, where they missed out on a medal for the first time since 1992.
Playing for the first time in India, and also at an Asian competition, the ex-LA Sparks player kept focussed on the task ahead. “It was horrible experience, but it was made clear by our coaches at the start of this campaign – that was done. Everything’s different now, and we’re just learning and moving forward.”
Tolo has impressed as a senior figure in the squad, bagging a game-high 17 points against rivals Japan on Tuesday, and will be key to the Opals’ campaign, in the quarter-final against DPR Korea on Thursday.
