Breaking the Mould

Sport is integral to Australian life and identity, and we’re rightly proud of our sporting achievements. But less glorious is the fact that, when it comes to the games we play, half of the population doesn’t get a look-in. According to the latest statistics, 81 per cent of sports media covers male-only sport, while just 8.7 per cent focuses on women. That’s right – horses got more attention than female athletes! Pick any sport and it’s easy to find examples of stark gender inequality and double standards so glaring that they’re almost laughable.

But an extraordinary transformation is taking place, and nobody is better placed to call it than veteran sports journalist Angela Pippos. In Breaking the Mould, Pippos charts a powerful awakening across Australian life; from suburban footy fields to stadium cage fights, female athletes are changing the status quo through fierce determination and undeniable performances.

Through candid and often hilarious personal tales from a life spent in and around sport, Pippos calls out the systems that have kept women on the sidelines, and challenges us to keep working towards a level playing field where any young woman can become her sporting best.

Review by Ilse Scheepers

Love it or hate it, sport is a great Australian past time. But watch the sports news on any random day, and the overwhelming majority of coverage is dedicated to men's sport. In fact, only 8.1% of sports media coverage focuses on women.

Angela Pippos is, as her subtitle so wonderfully puts it, taking a hammer to sexism in sport, and well past time. Pippos has meticulously crafted a book that is in turn blistering, discomforting and bold.

About the Author

Angela Pippos is a journalist, writer, television and radio presenter, film producer and public speaker based in Melbourne.