Laura Kane’s rapid AFL rise heralds changing times for women in sport | Megan Maurice

Not a total upheaval of the status quo, but enough of a shakeup to remind people women are here to stay, on and off the field

Sport has long been a masculine domain. Even when women began to make inroads – as things slowly improved on the field and media coverage crept into the back pages of newspapers – men still held the positions of power.

The announcement this week that Laura Kane has been appointed the AFL’s executive general manager of football is a sign of the changing times. It is not a complete upheaval of the status quo, but it is enough of a disturbance to cause a ripple and remind people that women in sport are here to stay, on and off the field. Kane’s role is one of the most senior in the organisation – reporting directly to the new chief executive, Andrew Dillon, and overseeing competition management across all forms of the game, as well as responsibility for umpiring, game analysis, player movement, talent pathways and wellbeing.