It’s been two years since the World Surf League Championship Tour last visited the Surf Coast. In that time much has changed in the sport and culture. Angus Smith speaks to some of the women breaking the glassy ceiling in the lead up to the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach.
In 2018 a photo of 15-year-old South African surfer Zoe Steyn fresh from winning the Under 18s Billabong Junior Series competition went viral.
Zoe was pictured with the Under 18 male winner, both holding their oversized winners’ cheques. Despite having surfed the same waves, Zoe’s cheque was for 4000 Rand, exactly half the amount her male counterpart received.
It’s not every day you see the gender pay gap depicted so blatantly in the form of two giant novelty cheques. The backlash was huge.
Read the full story in the Autumn edition of Geelong + Surf Coast Living magazine.
