International Women’s Day | High achievement on and off the court

The feats of Australia’s leading female players have been well-regarded for decades now, however the impact of women in volleyball ‘off-the-court’ has also been on the rise.

Volleyball is blessed to be one of the most gender-equal sports in the world and in Australia this is represented both in the playing ranks and in administration, including women making up 50 per cent of the VA Board and more than half of the state and territory CEOs.

As we recognise International Women’s Day on Saturday 8 March, we caught up with three women who continue to push the boundaries in what may have previously considered to be male dominated areas of the sport.

JENNY MANN – CEO Beach Volleyball World Championships 2025

On International Women’s Day, how important do you think it is that we do take time to recognise the role of women in sport, and the wider community?

I think it’s important to pause and listen to the many stories highlighting the real progress that has been forged over the past decades, particularly in female representation on and off the sports field.

You have worked in Australia and around the world in what would have been a very male-dominant environment at times. Has this ever been intimidating, and upon reflection how have you made your mark as a female in this scene?

I’ve definitely been in roles where I am the only woman in leadership meetings. I’ve been fortunate to have been supported by some amazing ‘he-for-she’ champions and female mentors who encouraged me to lean-into who I am and to find my voice.

How proud are you of the women in your small team working to bring together the World Championships and in sports administration generally around the country?

Yes, we’ve established a great management team for the Beach Volleyball World Championships, which also reflects the diversity of the event. One of my key motivations in my role is to shine a light on beach volleyball as a sport that puts the best female and male players on the stage alongside each other, which is a value shared amongst many other Olympic sports.

There’s significant improvements still to be made to get this same equality in sports governance off the field particularly in international sports leadership positions and in sports governance structures.

KARLA DELLA PIETRA – CEO Volleyball South Australia

How important do you think it is that we do take time to recognise the role of women in sport, and the wider community?

I’m a true believer in the saying ‘you have to see it to be it’.

Recognising the incredible women in sport who are breaking barriers is essential – not just in athlete and participation roles but also in administration and leadership.

As the youngest CEO of a South Australian SSO, I share this to show young girls that it is possible. Women must uplift one another—whether just starting out or highly experienced, there is space for all of us to thrive.

Equally, we must acknowledge the vital role of male allies in driving change. They are often in the rooms where key decisions are made and have the power to create opportunities – and I genuinely believe many are doing so. It’s important to celebrate everyone working towards making a difference. 

As a woman, are you encouraged by the increasing presence of women in sports administration roles within volleyball and sports in general around SA and Australia?

Absolutely! Over the past three years, our CEO group has grown from just two female CEOs to now five across eight states and territories. We have an equal voice and opportunity to shape the future of our sport at a national level. Women and girls in volleyball are discussed with intention and genuine care in our leadership meetings.

Having women in the room where decisions are made is critical to the success of our sport. Representation matters – if our participation base is gender-equal, our leadership and operations should reflect that too. This is how we create lasting success in sport and beyond.

There is still significant work to do in making coaching and refereeing more inclusive. It’s a challenge without a simple solution, but it remains a key agenda item in our national discussions, and we are all committed to driving meaningful change.

Volleyball is one of the most gender-equal sports in terms of participation. Do you think we’re on the right track or could still be doing more to encourage female participation, particularly in late-teen/post-school years?

I’m proud to work in volleyball, a sport that has already made significant strides in providing equal opportunities. However, there is still much to be done to achieve true gender equality. The drop-off in female participation after school is a concerning trend across the Australian sporting system.

To address this, sports need to rethink their offerings and deeply understand this decline. What barriers exist, and what changes are needed to ensure women and girls remain engaged in sport beyond their school years?

CARLA HOORWEG – International Volleyball Referee

How important do you think it is that we do take time to recognise the role of women in sport, and the wider community?

I think it’s absolutely crucial to recognise the contribution of women, being more than 50% of the population. I think we should always be looking at where need to develop better representation, and where we don’t have it starting to look at ‘why is that?’

Is there something that’s turning women off that as a pathway?

Are we just not getting the pipeline through for whatever reason? Starting to dig a bit deeper into that I think is a step in the right direction.

How did you become involved in officiating and why do you remain involved?

I was playing Junior reps and just kept playing and refereeing at the same time. Then eventually I stopped playing, but kept refereeing later. 

It’s definitely a very rewarding pathway for those that pursue. For me, I’m refereeing at a level that’s much higher than I ever played at so I can still be involved in the sport at a really high level.

I have the best seat in the house and I get to be involved and contribute which is an incredibly rewarding opportunity.

Should we be doing more to promote involvement in officiating, and get more women involved from younger age?

I’ve been an international referee since 2008 so it’s a long pathway to get to that level but then you stay around for a long time usually at that level. The conversations that we need to have about the next generation isn’t really the ‘next’ generation. They’re kind of two generations down the track! We need to be having conversations about developing junior referees today who are going to be international referees in 20 years time. If they’re starting at 15 now they’re probably not going to be at that level until their late 20s or early 30s. 

However when you compare it to playing where you’re talking about a very short career that’s over very quickly and it’s over very quickly, you can remain involved as an official for much longer which is really rewarding.