The South Austrailian government has announced that by 2019, it will have raised the women’s cycling prize fund pool by a whopping $90,000 to equal that of the men’s.
In this huge step forward in equality, the news has rippled through social media with waves of applause and triumph.
Wow, not that I needed any more reasons to love Tour Down Under. What a huge step forward for equality ???????????????? https://t.co/gK88JhBNFt
— AmandaSpratt (@AmandaSpratt) January 20, 2018
“It’s only fair the prize money they receive is on par with their male counterparts for each stage as well as the general classification.” – Leon Bignell, South Australian sports minister
Just wow. Huge news & just one more example of how women's sport is on the up and in the forefront of the public's mind in Australia. #proud https://t.co/643Xmic3Zh
— Chloe Hosking (@chloe_hosking) January 21, 2018
The hot topic of gender pay/prize gaps in cycling has been a point of contention with a burning awareness coming to the forefront of sports media in recent years.
While the UCI board has ruled on introducing equal prize money for both men and women in its world championships and world cup events, there’s still no minimum wage for female riders like there is for the men.
