Melbourne based software firm, Ideagen Op Central, today announced a new sponsorship of Villawood Bendigo Spirit; Bendigo’s own Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) team. This sponsorship is aimed at putting a spotlight on gender imbalances in a number of industries.
“We all know that tech has been a male dominated industry, just like most popular and highly televised sports tend to be male dominated.” says Kayla Russell, Chief Operating Officer at Ideagen Op Central. “We hope that our partnership with the Spirit can encourage more women to get involved in these industries and shine a light on gender diversity.”
There is still a gender imbalance in Australia’s tech industry, with women accounting for only 28% of IT roles. Similarly, the popularity of professional Basketball in Australia tends to be skewed towards males; with the WNBL 2020 season attracting 3.36 million viewers, compared to the NBL’s 25.8 million.
“Ideagen Op Central is proud to be playing a part in supporting women in technology with our strong female presence at all levels of our business, and in sport with this partnership with the Spirit.” said Kayla Russell.
“This is a great opportunity for the Spirit to partner with an organisation championing women, just as we do. Ideagen Op Central and the Spirit can achieve more together and sport is a great place to start.” says Bianca Dufelmeier, Commercial Development Manager at Bendigo Stadium Limited.
“We don’t need to look far from the recently contested Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where women accounted for 59% of the gold medalists from Australia, to appreciate the excitement and high level of competition we can expect from women in sport. Partnering with organisations like Ideagen Op Central allows us to continue to compete at the highest level and provide an amazing experience for the fans.” said Dufelmeier.
The opening round of the Chemist Warehouse 2021/22 WNBL season will commence on the 6th of November 2021. For more information or to purchase a membership, visit www.wnbl.basketball