ABOUT | Women Onside

Our Story.

Since 2017, Women Onside has worked to ensure women are represented, supported, and empowered across all areas of Australian football.

MEET OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Why Women Onside was created.

Women Onside was formed in July 2017 with a clear mission to promote gender equality in Australian football. The organisation was established to ensure that FIFA’s gender equality objectives and principles would be incorporated into Football Federation Australia’s (FFA) constitution.

women onside - woman kicking soccer ball

These principles guide our work:

Promoting the development of women’s football
Encouraging full participation of women at all levels of football governance
Making football accessible and adequately resourced for everyone who wishes to participate
Ensuring that national federations include women on their boards

Driving real change in football.

From the outset, Women Onside engaged in strategic advocacy with FIFA, the FFA Congress Review Working Group, and the media to champion the inclusion of these vital principles in Australian football’s governing statutes. Through sustained effort and collaboration, we were instrumental in achieving significant gender reforms within the FFA constitution.

One of our landmark accomplishments was the successful introduction of the 40:40:20 rule, a gender equity framework that requires football governance bodies to have at least 40% women, 40% men, and 20% flexibility, ensuring gender balance in leadership roles.

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR WORK

Who we are today.

As a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee Women Onside has a board of directors elected by the membership and complemented by additional directors appointed by the board.

Seven of our directors are elected and one has been appointed. They represent a strongly diverse array of football contributors, all united in their commitment to women's football and women in football.

Meet the dedicated team helping drive Women Onside’s mission forward.

team

Kerry Harris - Chair

Kerry is a CPA Fellow, AICD graduate and highly regarded sports administrator.

Kieran Pender - Deputy Chair

Kieran is a lawyer, writer and academic.

Kate Anthonisz

Kate holds a Bachelor of Economics and is the APAC leader for the Women+ Employee Relations Group at Atlassian.

Olivia Roney

Olivia is an award winning lawyer with a background in social impact frameworks.

Sarah Druce

Sarah is a legal and governance advisor with over two decades of experience in corporate, technology, and human rights sectors.

Jo Fernandes

Jo has over 30 years of experience in football from the grassroots to the international.

Jacky Ronan

Jacky brings 20 years of executive experience across complex international environments, including direct relationships with FIFA, AFC, and global football confederations.