But Where Are The Women?

We are asking the women's whereabouts because we know they are absent. We know the men are present, but we also need to ask where they are too, in terms of locating their position on the map, so that we can see where they stand in relation to the women, and vice versa.

There is no real value in discussing the location of one sector of our society in a vacuum. Such a discussion holds too much potential to remain merely divisive and unable to provide us with the picture we need to help us to frame our thoughts on how we travel into our future.

I am basing what I have to say on two premises. One, that we are asking the question in a sporting context as a mechanism for discussing the development of our society, and, two, I am looking through the CLR James lens of cricket as mirror to society.

In the sense of the mirror, cricket has simply been one convenient site to explore that question of society's relations. That is because it provides a sufficiently engaging arena for us to look at the various dimensions of human interaction. However, cricket is but one area. For in every environment that brings people together, there will be a range of activities and relationships, power struggles and negotiations that reflect the way we live as a society.

Business organisations are no different, and if we look at the way these organisations are structured and the dynamics of the relationships within, we will see that what holds true in the realm of cricket holds equally true in corporate cultures.

There are hierarchies, there are stated goals, there are strategic plans; there are mechanisms by which to execute those plans. The key to the success of any structure, whatever its objectives, is finding the right blend of its resources. Producing at optimal value has to be based on the concept of inclusion. Inclusion in the sense that one is open to ideas, open to challenges, open to sharing power, open to functioning as a team. Inclusion in the sense that one does not discriminate on the basis of gender, or race, or religion, or social status.

The first challenge is to understand that we are different. Each one of us can be differentiated, not just by gender; but in personality, perspective, beliefs, skills, and so on. The second challenge is to respect those differences. The third is to assess those differences and find the best ways to make them complementary elements of a whole.

The tradition of exclusion unfortunately persists in these societies which have been formed under that mantle. When the Europeans arrived, the indigenous people were not just excluded from their own homeland, they were practically exterminated.

Under the sugar regimes, African slaves were imported and excluded too from participating in civil society. Indentured Asians: Indians and Chinese carried the same outsider caste. The struggle to break free of the yokes of colonialism, which excluded the masses from positions of authority in society, took the form of a growing nationalism, and the push for independent status.

This nationalism was meant to be inclusive; embracing the idea of a society empowering previously disenfranchised people. It didn't manage that, and the practice of exclusion saw the rise, say of cricket clubs, based on class and colour distinctions.

Exclusion, suggesting exclusivity, and thus reinforcing a sense of superior status, remains so culturally entrenched that it is practised often unwittingly.

Women, as a group have faced this exclusion since early times, and continue to do so despite having made major strides in the quest for gender equality.

EXCLUSION IN CRICKET

Take, for example, in cricket. One of the admirable sponsored coaching programmes in this country is open to young boys and girls in its first two phases. But, regardless of how well a girl performs, she is not allowed to go past that. The programme does not cater for the participation of girls after a certain stage. What is the message?

That girls are not worth further investment? That their skills are not deserving of nurturing and training? That there is no foreseeable return on the investment so no resources should be expended in their direction? How are these girls expected to develop?

It becomes the responsibility of the girls to seek training at their own expense. The Trinidad and Tobago Women's Cricket Board of Control has tried to help, and is now setting up a programme to assist these young girls with training. The Trinidad and Tobago Women's Cricket Board is a body with limited resources, and although they have managed to accomplish an astonishing amount with those constraints, they simply do not have the kind of access to funding they require.

My feeling is that sponsors, should they feel that it is too onerous to undertake responsibility for young girls at a sensitive age that requires more facilities and considerations than in the earlier stages, can choose a different approach than to simply cut them out. They might channel some money into an organisation like the women's cricket board to help manage parts of the training programme, and thus allow the girls to continue having access to coaching.

THE SAGA OF THE WIWCF

We ought not to exclude them so early in the game. We're already doing it at the senior level. An example is the saga of the West Indies Women's Cricket Federation.

A couple of years ago, the International Cricket Council (ICC) mandated all of its members to merge their male and female boards as they would only recognise one entity. Lagging behind, the West Indies Cricket Board was slow to respond. Last year, the firm of Ernst & Young was asked to examine the issue and make proposals. They proposed that the Women's Federation be made the seventh member of the WICB, but the WICB rejected that.

Eventually, the WICB agreed to set up an integration steering committee, comprising two members from the women's federation, Anne Brown-John and Keith Joseph, three members of the WICB, Val Banks, Lennox John and Jeff Broomes. Mr. Broomes, who was subsequently replaced on the WICB, kept his position on this committee. Michael Seepersaud was the recording secretary.

Following the ICC model, the committee proposed that a cricket committee for women be established, and at the WICB's AGM in St. Maarten, that was accepted. This committee was made up by Gayle Daniel-Worrell, Anne Brown-John and Cinda Bobb. This committee was supposed to be part of the WICB and thus, the Women's Federation was no longer to exist.

However, objections raised by the Federation's president as to the procedure followed to disband it, caused the WICB to adjust its position to accommodate a procedural change in the dissolution of the Federation before the committee could be established. What happened is a result of the same reactionary behavioural pattern that has blighted the decision-making processes of the WICB.

The committee members tendered their resignations so that the process could begin anew, and the then CEO of the WICB, advised the Women's Federation to continue overseeing the administration of regional women's cricket. This brought everything back to square one, in direct contravention of the mandate of the ICC, as we now have the situation of two separate entities: male and female for West Indies cricket.

How can something like this be allowed to happen? It happened, because in the first place, the WICB has never bothered to pay any mind to women's cricket. I know this because over the years there have been several episodes where simple courtesies are not even observed. Letters to the board from the regional body remain unanswered. Requests for meetings are ignored. The only time in the Board's history that it paid any attention to the status of women in the realm of cricket was during the tenure of Wes Hall as President. It was during this period that Ann Brown-John was selected onto the development committee of the Board. It was in the final part of this period that I was asked to sit on the Cricket World Cup Board.

ANN BROWN-JOHN - UNSUNG HERO

Before I go on, I want to say something about the contribution made by Ann Brown-John to cricket in this region. Ann has served on this country's national team, has captained and coached the West Indies women's team. Over the years, she has trained as a coach, has organised tournaments and workshops, training camps and coaching sessions. She has served on the Trinidad and Tobago Women's Cricket Board of Control, has served on the West Indies Women's Cricket Federation. She is the first woman to serve on a WICB cricket committee. She is one of the three women who have been admitted as honorary members of the Queen's Park Cricket Club: the first females to enter that male space. She is also the Americas representative on the ICC's women's committee.

I have worked with Ann on several of her projects, and have seen the energy and commitment she has brought to developing the game for women in the region. I have seen her struggle to manage the scarcest resources to pull off tournaments and training sessions with great finesse. Sponsors do not want to hear about women's cricket. Its profile is too low, they say, the returns are not going to be big enough to merit investment.

The catch 22 of that situation of course, is that without resources that can afford marketing and development programmes, the women's game will remain the unsexy relative of the male version. However, Ann and the committed people who have worked tirelessly to keep some level of continuity and high standards have kept the flag flying high. Ann is one of the unsung champions of West Indies cricket. It is my belief that if it were not for her presence and her commitment over the last couple of decades, women's cricket would never have reached where it has.

Last year, the women's team qualified for the World Cup in South Africa and had a most horrendous time trying to raise the funds to allow them to participate. It went right down to the wire, with the team struggling to keep focused while frantic begging was going on behind the scenes to find enough money to pay for airline tickets and accommodation, etc. This was a regional team, qualifying for a World Cup, and this situation arose.

I am not saying this crisis situation is specific to women; the storyline has been repeated in all the sporting disciplines. Teams are qualifying without support, and are always having these harrowing experiences to get to the games. Yet, when they emerge victorious, politicians throng airports for photo opportunities and tired speeches of how they support athletes.

It is a reality that we would do well to change, but even as we do so, we should bear in mind that in these times, it is just as imperative that we find ways to achieve self sustenance and empower ourselves to make our organisations into efficient, profitable, developmentally centered entities.

Again, I think we need to come back to the concept of inclusion. How do we create organisations that can manage their businesses optimally? How do we work with the resources we have in a realistic and practical manner? Only by gathering all hands on deck.

Our societies are grappling with the problems caused by male underachievement at educational levels. We are viewing with alarm the withdrawal of our young men from institutional learning. The figures are showing much higher enrolment of women at tertiary levels and better performances than men. It is a cause for worry. Significantly too, there are increasing numbers of households headed by women. How are these women managing to juggle homes, education, and careers? There must be lessons to be learned from this.

WHY DO WOMEN BOTHER?

I do not feel we have looked seriously enough at the way women have developed these enormous coping skills with a view to learning how it is they do it, what drives them, and why it has become so difficult for men to cope with today's challenges. They haven't been stripped of the privileges of their masculinity through these times. They still enjoy the best positions in the corporate world.

We see women outperforming men in school, yet they are under represented at the top levels of the work force. Women are still being paid less for doing the same work. You have to ask yourself, why do women bother?

It isn't that they are unqualified. They are excluded and sidelined, despite their qualifications. There is nothing wrong with touting policies regarding maternity leave, and childcare facilities, but it is my contention that these are not simply women's rights or issues. They are issues regarding family, and women should not be made to feel that family care is their sole responsibility. Men should feel their responsibility too.

Women are relegated to the tasks the men don't want, the jobs that seem concerned with "soft" issues. This is how we have excluded women, have kept them on the periphery, even though they have sent every possible signal to say they want to come in.

In cricket, Australia has been at the top of the game for a decade now, although the end of that rule is coming. The Australian women are at the top of theirs. That's the result of a long and highly developed series of training programmes that begin from early childhood and never stop being open to players.

The Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy (CBCA) offers what they call Sports Science Support Services. The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars (CBSS: Australian Women?s Team) utilise sports science services twice per year during full squad camps. Camps are scheduled so technical feedback can be incorporated into yearly training schedules, including preparations for test series and World Cups. All facets of the girls? skills, techniques and capacities are analysed using biomechanics, physiology, nutrition, physiotherapy and skill acquisition specialists from the ACB and the AIS. Research is also ongoing for the CBSS in the areas of fielding and bowling.

We can do these things too; we can include women in our training programmes. More importantly, we can involve them not only as athletes, but by drawing on their professional skills in management, in training, in finance, in cultural development, in history, in media management, in etiquette, in leadership skills.

TRUE SPIRIT OF PARTNERSHIP

Over the years, we have complained that cricket administration is run by an old boys' network. We have found it flawed in every regard. We have complained about the lack of training and development for our cricketers. We have hollered for heads every time there is a fiasco, and we all know there have been many. In fact, if heads rolled every time we called for it, the entire West Indies would be a headless cadaver. I know some might feel it already is, but we mustn't stop trying to find the best ways forward.

I would like to suggest that the West Indies Cricket Board pay closer attention to the process of integrating women into its structure. Not just in response to an ICC mandate. Not to suck them in as another tiresome aspect of cricket administration, as poor relations to the real thing. But in the true spirit of partnership.

For in the history of women's cricket in this region lies a story of perseverance and commitment, of astonishing skill at husbanding meagre resources and of managing to continue to play for pride despite national neglect. It is the same untold story of women in the workplace.

It can be a critical step in the process of rebuilding our cricket fortunes. Let me pick up on something that has been a personal challenge. When I sat on the Cricket World Cup Board, I said that I did not feel that we should allow the opportunity that was being provided by hosting this world cup go by without seeking to maximise the benefits to us as region.

STADIUM MUSEUMS

I outlined a series of initiatives that could be integrated into the planning process. They included the proposal that every stadium should be required to factor in a museum or some kind of archive on its premises. I felt that we could have the local organising committees in each territory plan a campaign to invite citizens to dig up their old photos, letters, books, gear, whatever cricket memorabilia they had, and they could donate or sell them to the museum. They would be credited for their contributions.

It seemed a way to include people in the preparation, to make them feel a sense of belonging to this mammoth project. I also felt that by not having sporting museums, we were neglecting a key element of educating young people about their heritage. They do not know much about their sporting legacy, and thus they have little connection to the ideas of national pride we keep talking about.

I felt we should encourage artists to paint pictures of cricket, in fact, I thought every stadium should be adorned by murals depicting something of its cricket history. I felt we should encourage musicians to write songs and photographers to make posters of their work. I saw it as a grand opportunity for people to get involved, for them to earn some money, and for us to do something to create and build tools to educate the youngsters, and to build up a fine repository of cricket related merchandise, that would be attractive, and entertaining.

One of the growing rumbles has been the enormous individual cost to host territories for this world cup. Hundreds of millions are being spent to produce it. What will be the return on that investment? I would like to think that every single one of these cultural projects can be profitable, and should have been part of the planning overall from the beginning. Why shouldn't the Caribbean also be known for sports tourism? Why can't we be able to go to a cricket ground and buy posters of our cricket icons? Or buy books? It is not ambush marketing to do any of these things because you are not tagging them as world cup merchandise. You are simply capitalising on the presence of thousands of sports tourists to sell them.

The ideas were deemed nice, but pigeonholed into the "soft" womanish category, and nobody has pursued them since I left the Board. But I still feel there is no reason for them to be completely abandoned because they are not direct projects of the world cup board. They are there for those who wish to act on them.

I am saying that in our planning, we need to incorporate the ideas and resources that are available right through our societies. Sports, not just cricket, have become super-sized industries, with all kinds of downstream activities and opportunities. It requires a range of skills and competencies.

For too long we have allowed the administration to be trampled upon by alpha males raging over territory. These are critical times, and we cannot afford the kind of careless, showy, planning that seventy US dollars a barrel can bring. We need to work together, not against one another.

The women have always been willing to be part, but have been rendered invisible by the unwillingness to acknowledge their contributions and to embrace them as equal partners. We are here. We will always be here. The question for us as a society now is: where are the men?

* Vaneisa Baksh is a Trinidad & Tobago-based cricket historian and journalist.