The Andrews Labor Government is levelling the playing field for women and girls to play, lead and succeed across all levels of the sport and recreation sector.

Minister for Community Sport Ros Spence today announced several game changing initiatives that will provide a much-needed injection to the sector and support women and girls looking to take on leadership roles.

The inaugural Change Our Game Making the Call program is now underway, with 21 participants taking part in a program that is the first of its kind, which aims to address the lack of gender diversity in sports broadcasting and create pathways for women’s voices in sport to be heard.

Led by a team of media experts including international cricket commentator Mel Jones, sports media executive Dave Barham, and sports journalist and broadcasters Kelli Underwood and Andy Maher, the program provides women with the education and support to develop a career behind the microphone.

It comes as another 23 up-and-coming female leaders in sport scored a Change Our Game Scholarship, taking the total number of recipients to 190 Victorian women to benefit from professional development opportunities and training courses through the more than $1 million program.

The Labor Government also announced a $26,000 Change Our Game Research Grant for an RMIT research project to help Muslim girls overcome barriers towards physical activity.

All the initiatives announced today are part of the broader $7.2 million Change Our Game initiative aimed at levelling the playing field for women and girls in sport and recreation.

For more information about the Change Our Game programs visit changeourgame.vic.gov.au.