Jess Jonassen opens up about gender bias in cricket on Women's Day

Australian left-arm orthodox Jess Jonassen has opened up about the gender bias that exists in the game of cricket while also recounting her struggle as a budding cricketer during her teenage years because of her gender.

In an article published in cricket.com.au, Jonassen recalled how she had to take special permission from her school to play cricket just because she wasn't the 'normal gender'.

"I was the first girl to play cricket for my primary school. But for me to do so, we had to get permission from Catholic Education Queensland – just to let me play school cricket.

"At that time, it wasn't even called school boys' cricket – it was just the school's cricket team – and there was nothing stipulating what gender I had to be, yet I still had to get permission purely because I wasn't the "normal" gender that participated in that sport."

It was one of the many hurdles that the young teenager faced during her formative years. She had to constantly put up with misogynistic comments from her male peers in an environment where such comments were normalized.

"It was just one of many hurdles, but early on all I cared was that I could play. As I got older, there were different times I was exposed to sexual harassment from the boys we played against. As an example, I even got asked, 'How are they hanging? Have they dropped yet?' It was almost like they were threatened," she recalled.

As a teenager, Jonassen recalled not being picked for the school team just because her male counterparts' parents weren't comfortable with a girl being picked despite her being clearly better than some of the boys.

"Sure, they were immature teenagers, but they had to learn those attitudes from someone. There were underage boys' teams that I wasn't selected in, even though there were no rules against it, purely because the male players' parents complained that they didn't want a girl to be picked – because it meant their son might miss out. Even though I was better than them.

"Women cricketers are often subjected to the caveat that 'Oh! They face 120 km/hr trundlers! Let them face 140+ first."

Jonassen touched upon the subject by making it clear that while genetically and biologically, women are different to men, it does not give anyone a right to mock or ridicule their achievements.

"Genetically and biologically, women are different to men, you can't escape that. You can't hide it and you can't sugar coat it, we're different. But being different doesn't mean being less skillful, or less athletic. It's just different. Female athletes can still work just as hard as male athletes and get the most out of their bodies,"

You are constantly compared to a different gender, rather than where the women's game was 10 or 20 years ago. People say, 'this guy can bowl way quicker than this woman', and it's probably always going to be the case. Genetics and biology suggest that, and just because it's different, doesn't mean it's worse.

I see comments online saying, 'I'd love to see them try and face 150km/h'. Well, I'd love to see the person typing it try and face 120km/h, let alone 150km/h. I've done bowling machine sessions where it's got up to 140km/h and I've played it fine. But I don't face that, and you need to be just as skilful at playing the speed you typically face.

"These stereotypes about women being inferior to men are still entrenched in society: it's what's portrayed out there in media platforms, in day-to-day conversations, and how people have been brought up. And we're lucky; even though we face a lot of bias, we are in a decent situation where we live, compared to some other countries," she added.

The left-arm orthodox further added that the society and world are changing and it is about time, we put to rest all the stereotypes and give equal respect to men and women.

"Society and the world is changing, and it's time that we all catch up. Simple shifts actually matter massively, more than the people who are making those decisions actually think," she said.

"Language is so powerful and there are really simple changes that don't require much effort but have such a powerful message – something as easy as using 'chairperson' instead of 'chairman," she said.

"Things are improving – when we started playing state T20 double-headers with the men, our matches weren't even listed on the tickets. Now the WBBL is a standalone competition."

Jonassen was one of the stars in Australia's thrilling win against England in their World Cup campaign opener. She claimed a one-handed stunner in the last over to deal the deal for the former world champions.