Why is that?
Women and girls obviously deserve to play sport, be active, pick up the whistle, sit in the boardroom and strive to reach elite competitions and the world stage just as much as men and boys.
But there have long been added barriers in women’s sport.
Limited programmes, poor facilities, lack of funding, fewer opportunities, fighting for media coverage — and putting your head above the sand and fighting for women’s rights does not come without its scrutiny.
Kereyn Smith has been at the forefront of promoting women in sport for decades through her roles at Sport New Zealand and as the chief executive secretary-general of the New Zealand Olympic Committee.
She has witnessed women’s sport gradually gaining momentum but remembers a time when championing change was adversarial.
"I think there was a time when people didn’t quite understand necessarily the issues and the opportunities," Smith said.
"It wasn’t always a comfortable place to be and for that reason I have immense regard, and respect, for the women who paved the way for that, because it was tough.
"But what we have seen this century, and particularly in the last 10 years with the changes in leadership and policies, is that the whole agenda for inclusivity is increasing.
"There’s a lot more awareness and understanding of the why, what’s the purpose and how important it is to have inclusive societies.
"Sport needs to reflect that."
In recent years, there has been more investment, more policies and programmes and more focus placed on how to not only get women playing sport, but in leadership, and decision-making, roles, to allow for more diversity and better governance.
Where women struggled to get a seat around the table before, things are slowly starting to change.
New Zealand Cricket and Basketball New Zealand lead the way with five women on their boards, followed by Netball New Zealand (four, plus two female youth representatives), New Zealand Football (four), New Zealand Rugby (three) and Hockey New Zealand (three).
Four of those national bodies have women in the top role: Lesley Murdoch (cricket), Carole Maddix (netball), Johanna Wood (football) and Dame Patsy Reddy (rugby).
But do not forget rugby was penalised last year, losing $280,000 in Sport New Zealand funding, for being unable to reach the Government-mandated 40% of women on boards by December 2021.
Former Black Ferns captain Dame Farah Palmer, who sits on the New Zealand Rugby and Sport New Zealand boards, believes diversity can only improve sport.
"There’s been this whole argument about whether people should get there on merit, or because of the quota, the targets," Palmer said.
"But I think once people allow women to (a) even be considered, and (b) get a seat at the table, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that they add value to the organisation.
"I think that’s been a real kind of game-changer in terms of people’s perceptions of what having gender diversity on the board can achieve."
Watching women take on a variety of roles in management, refereeing, officiating, playing, governance and media showed the desire to do better, she said.
"Fifty-one percent of the population are female.
"That is a huge resource that we can now all tap into and we’re influential in terms of ... where we place our dollar and also in terms of our decision-making process within our network."
Palmer said there was still work to be done on making sport an inviting place for women.
Facilities and changing rooms typically were designed for men, especially in rugby, and did not feel like an inviting space for women.
Commercial partners had come to the fore, investing in upgrading facilities — Dunedin rugby club Alhambra-Union featured last year when it won a $30,000 prize to improve its amenities — in the hope it would attract more women, Palmer said.
"I don’t think we have any problems with girls and women wanting to play sport, but if they don’t feel like it’s inviting or welcoming they won’t stay.
"We’ve got to try work on retention and give people opportunities to give sports, and a range of sports, a go. If they feel welcome and if they feel it’s benefiting them in terms of their wellbeing, they’ll stay."
Hosting the Women’s Cricket World Cup and the Women’s Rugby World Cup — and soon the Fifa Women’s World Cup — can only benefit various codes at a grassroots and elite level.
Smith said there had been no question of Kiwis embracing athletes at the big events and it proved the impact women’s sport could have in New Zealand.
"That’s showing the real spotlight on progress and momentum and energy and enables people to reflect on that progress," Smith said.
"It also enables everyday Kiwis to see how amazing our top sportswomen are in those codes, which have more traditionally been male, and that they’re not mini-men.
"They play their own brand and style, and they’re exceptional athletes.
"But without question, without role models and without those moments of success and focus, which were truly, truly amazing, you just don’t necessarily have the momentum for change.
But it poses the question: how do you capitalise on that?
It started at the bottom and at the top, Smith said.
At a grassroots level, sport needed to be inclusive, relevant and accessible for girls to join, and at the elite level, women needed more domestic leagues, programmes and opportunities to have a voice at the table.
There have been programmes in place at the Olympic level — that is evident with women winning more medals than men at the Tokyo and Rio Olympics — but more can still be done.
Sport also needs its leaders, past and present, to show what is possible and encourage others to get involved.
"What I’ve seen, and I just think is such a powerful thing, is just female leaders on and off the field of play that are now emerging," Smith said.
"They’re what I’d call next-generation and even next-next-generation, and those leaders are young, authentic, they’re global, they’re diverse and they’re relatable. They inspire people."
Creating embedded change was where women’s sport was "sitting right now" and through that, the future was bright.
Smith, who is the vice-president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, and Palmer both agree it is important to push on to make women’s sport more accessible.
Sports organisations needed to be encouraged to access more funding, be more aware about creating inclusive environments and provide more networking and training opportunities, Smith said.
"At the high-performance level, we need our champions.
"The Fifa Women’s World Cup provides a massive shop window to the world to showcase how we can step up and how our women can perform — not only on the field of play because we’ve got amazing referees, we’ve got great coaches, we’ve got amazing female leaders ... the next generation of female leaders are really talented and inspirational and motivated.
"I think a little bit of each of those things is probably the key."
Organisations needed support to set up pathways for athletes to study, and aim for a career, to set themselves up after sport as well, Palmer said.
While she was proud of playing 35 games for the Black Ferns, she was just as proud to have completed a PhD and in her job as po akonga (executive director) of Maori student success at Massey University.
"Don’t put all your eggs into being an athlete and just leave it at that. You can only be an athlete for so long and then what are you going to do afterwards?
"It’s also important for organisations to acknowledge that they play a role in that."
New Zealand could not afford to "take our foot off the throttle".
"I think we are definitely increasing the interest and the acceptance of playing lots of different sports," Palmer said.
"It’s been great to have kind of three world cup events here in Aotearoa that focus on women and girls in their particular sports.
"But then it’s about the organisations and the communities then taking that desire to play and continuing with it and getting diversity across all levels of sport.
"I don’t think there are any downsides to having diversity through experiences around the table because it does help with more robust decision-making.
"For me, it’s about how do we take their enthusiasm and then take it to the next level and make sure it is embedded because then it becomes normalised."
Smith and Palmer both want to send a challenge to the New Zealand sporting public.
Watch women’s sport. Support it. Invest in it. Celebrate it. Take note.
Help our women get the recognition they deserve — on and off the field.
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