Equal playing field for women
It’s been hard work juggling three professional sports, motherhood and working full-time for Honey Hireme.
Trainings are fitted in around work - often early hours in the morning then again late into the night - so mahi has to flexible, and your employers have to be understanding with having a lot of time off.
Being a mum can often take a back seat to training camps, tournaments overseas and weekend sessions.
And don’t even mention the pay. Hireme knows and understands the scenario all too well.
The 36-year-old, mother of one, has represented New Zealand in rugby, rugby league and rugby sevens, spanning around 15 years across the three codes.
When Hireme first made the national teams for rugby and rugby league, she had to pay to attend the training camps and games overseas.
‘‘Obviously, now we don’t have to pay and we receive a payment, whether it’s a tourney fee or set fee,’’ she said. ‘‘But I’ve seen a lot of changes in my time.’’
For the last four to five years she’s been juggling the Black Ferns and Kiwi Ferns.
Equal pay has been a highly discussed topic since rugby sevens was announced as an Olympic sport and the Black Ferns won the Women’s Rugby World Cup last year.
More male athletes are contracted professionally and full- time, so their day can be 100 per cent committed and focused to training. But that’s not necessarily the case for women.
The women’s rugby sevens have fought hard for a pay structure, in recent years introducing full-time contracts.
‘‘After sevens was announced for the Olympics, a payment structure was put in place for the men, but we had to work to have some sort of adequate payment scheme,’’ Hireme said.
She said the women were expected to compete at the same level as men and have the same expectations when it came to training.
‘‘We did have to fight really hard for it. It’s something that our senior players have worked hard to establish, and not just for us, but for the younger women coming through.’’
And while women’s rugby has come a long way, Hireme said women’s rugby league is even a greater step behind.
Her fourth Women’s Rugby League World Cup was the first year she got an initial payment followed by payment incentives if the team made the finals and if they won.
‘‘In a way, women’s rugby league is like the poor cousin to women’s rugby in New Zealand. We’ve always been grateful for what we’ve got in both sports, but I have noticed a significant difference.’’