Stosur, Rafter and Public Opinion

So much is said when it comes to getting women in our boardrooms. Over the summer break I read an article in Forbes, written by Ilene H Lang, the President & CEO of Catalyst, which focused on the myth of the ambition gap and summates that women have had plenty of mentoring but not enough sponsoring. Their research suggested the importance of sponsors to "advocate for you from behind close doors and ensure you are visible when opportunities arise". Their view is simply women are over-mentored and under-sponsored.

Contemplating articles such as this while enjoying our summer of tennis got me thinking about the different perceptions of our sporting stars and whether gender is an influencer of public opinion.

Sam Stosur was ranked #1 in the world on the WTA Women's Doubles Circuit in 2006 with doubles partner, Lisa Raymond. Since early 2010 when her focus moved to her burgeoning singles career, she has had an overall upward trajectory. A fourth round appearance at the Australian Open, the semis at Indian Wells, a WTA title at Charleston and, after defeating three former World #1's enroute, an appearance in the 2011 French Open Final. Sam was on her way! The ground swell of support for Sammy was significant and well deserved. She is our most successful female on the professional circuit since Evonne Goolagong-Cawley in 1970s and 1980s. Sam was, however, seen to falter when she exited in the first round of Wimbledon in 2011. One did not have to look far to see media stories or hear banter in the pub that she wasn't as good as we thought or she wasn't the real deal. These comments came despite her continuing climb up the Singles rankings. This 'noise' persisted until her apparent breakthrough performance at the 2011 U.S. Open, only a few months after her stumble on grass at Wimbledon, when she convincingly defeated former World #1, Serena Williams in the final. All hail Sam Stosur! This was followed by immediate claims of impending success on home soil at the 2012 Australian Open. No pressure....much.

In the haze of freakish talent from the likes of Roger Federer, we seem to have forgotten that winning one of the four Majors is a big deal and back to back titles is not the norm. Even the great Andre Agassi who won his first Major in mid-1992 didn't follow this up with another Major until late 1994.

So this summer we see criticism of Sam's second round exit at the Brisbane International (the first tournament of the season) and her loss in the first round of the Sydney International (to Francesca Schiavone, the 2011 French Open winner). We now hear a surging tide critiquing her mental toughness and consistency.

I'd suggest we would be making a valuable, albeit small, contribution to better position our players to have the right mental attitude going into a tournament if we supported them rather than berated them. And, we shouldn't think our comments in the local pub couldn't possibly make an impact. Our publicly stated comments builds the community view which impacts media sentiment and then plays out as a sensational headline or becomes the over-used door stopper question in interviews which can impact on the player.

Now consider our long-time country favourite, Pat Rafter, who saw a spike in his tournament success in 1997 with a surprise win at the U.S. Open. He defended this title in 1998. And many a late night was had by people all over the country as we willed him to go all the way at Wimbledon... time and time again. Poor Patty Rafter we would say. We so desperately wanted him to hold the silverware aloft and we knew he wanted it. The same was said of the classic battles between Agassi and Rafter...often in a semi final in front of a sell-out crowd. Many a mum wanted to run down and give Rafter a hug as he thanked the fans for supporting him and bowed out for another year. A Wimbledon title was to be his swan song but, alas, it never happened.

Dare I say our attitude to support (or sponsor, to use the Catalyst language) seems skewed based on gender. We support Rafter all the way. We celebrate his successes and almost-there achievements, while commiserating with his misfortune of not quite getting there. And, we all love Patty Rafter. Genuine Australian. All-round good bloke. He can do no wrong. We even held signs aloft at the Davis Cup which said 'sorry mate' such was his down-to-earth charm displayed on and off the court. And, we cheered again more recently when he became Captain of the Davis Cup team. And, Stosur? We will her to win, there is no doubt about that. But do we commiserate? Do we scoff and write her off as not consistent? Do we wish she'd been better but comment that she doesn't really have the 'it' factor or she doesn't want it enough?

There are 37 one time Grand Slam winners since the Open Era commenced. It's not a bad club to be in. Anna Kournikova would loved to have had the opportunity to engrave her name on the silverware of any WTA single's tournament, let alone on a Grand Slam trophy. Sam knows how to win. She's been there and done that and with the right support around her (from the public just as much as her loyal coaching and support base) she can do it again. And, if she doesn't, it won't take anything away from her significant achievements to date.

But what does this mean for us? Do our sentiments play out subconsciously in all aspects of our life? Is this a reflection of the gender divide seen in corporate Australia? Is it why we see a predominately jacket and tie style in the boardrooms around the country?

Men achieve success and we can forgive them a few slips along the way. After all, they are a star. They've got talent - we've seen it. We should support them. We should give them every opportunity to show their skills and abilities once again. Sometimes they come through, sometimes they don't. Think Ricky Ponting, George Gregan and Matt Giteau. We want them on the team, then we want to drop them from the team, then they do something amazing and we want them again and we celebrate their long term success.

Women achieve success and we say, can she do it again? Is she a one-hit wonder (or one-time Slam winner only)? Was it a fluke? Is it repeatable? Let's wait to see her consistency under pressure. Has she got the mental toughness we want? How will she fare when times get tough? Do we stand to the side, without showing genuine support and sponsorship, while we see if she can prove herself again?

Is this perceived difference an aberration? Is it reality? Do we fail to truly sponsor women who have had some success and women with potential? What can we do to change the subconscious be it in the sporting arena or around the executive table? Are you promulgating the gender skew without realising it? What can you do differently?

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