<p>Professional athletes in all sports have been impacted by the global shutdown caused by COVID-19 but women may end up the biggest losers due to ingrained bias and discrimination, Australia's Winter Olympic trailblazer Zali Steggall has said.</p>.<p>Women have enjoyed some hard-won gains in elite sports in recent years, with pro leagues starting up in a number of countries and growing support for their fight for pay parity.</p>.<p>But Steggall, a former world champion skier who won Australia's first individual Winter Olympic medal at the 1998 Nagano Games, fears those gains could be eroded as cash-strapped federations cut costs to protect men's competitions.</p>.<p>She pointed to the fact that even in Australia, which is often held up as a world leader in investing in women's sport, discussions about restarting competitions have focused almost exclusively on the male domain.</p>.<p>"It is very concerning. It comes from that kind of unconscious bias that men are supposed to be the provider or the main breadwinner of the household versus the females," the 46-year-old told Reuters in an interview.</p>.<p>"So all attempts are made to ensure that (men) are able to continue in their profession and get back to work.</p>.<p>"We see that from our sports ... that there’s less concern about female professionals being able to get back to their livelihoods."</p>.<p>Cuts to women's sport have already been felt around the world.</p>.<p>Colombian soccer club Independiente Santa Fe sparked an outcry last month when they said they would suspend their female players' contracts but give only pay-cuts to the men.</p>.<p>Australia's National Rugby League (NRL) has lobbied hard to restart the suspended men's top-flight later this month, even as the clubs ponder whether they have the money to maintain a presence in the women's elite NRLW competition.</p>.<p>The Auckland-based Warriors, the only New Zealand club in the NRL, said their women's team might not survive budget cuts.</p>.<p>Warriors Chief Executive Cameron George said last week that their women's programme was an "additional spend".</p>.<p>"The women’s game has grown significantly in the New Zealand rugby league landscape over the last couple of years and we’ve invested heavily in it," he said.</p>.<p>"We take that very seriously but it’s also an additional spend that we’re going to have to reconsider."</p>
<p>Professional athletes in all sports have been impacted by the global shutdown caused by COVID-19 but women may end up the biggest losers due to ingrained bias and discrimination, Australia's Winter Olympic trailblazer Zali Steggall has said.</p>.<p>Women have enjoyed some hard-won gains in elite sports in recent years, with pro leagues starting up in a number of countries and growing support for their fight for pay parity.</p>.<p>But Steggall, a former world champion skier who won Australia's first individual Winter Olympic medal at the 1998 Nagano Games, fears those gains could be eroded as cash-strapped federations cut costs to protect men's competitions.</p>.<p>She pointed to the fact that even in Australia, which is often held up as a world leader in investing in women's sport, discussions about restarting competitions have focused almost exclusively on the male domain.</p>.<p>"It is very concerning. It comes from that kind of unconscious bias that men are supposed to be the provider or the main breadwinner of the household versus the females," the 46-year-old told Reuters in an interview.</p>.<p>"So all attempts are made to ensure that (men) are able to continue in their profession and get back to work.</p>.<p>"We see that from our sports ... that there’s less concern about female professionals being able to get back to their livelihoods."</p>.<p>Cuts to women's sport have already been felt around the world.</p>.<p>Colombian soccer club Independiente Santa Fe sparked an outcry last month when they said they would suspend their female players' contracts but give only pay-cuts to the men.</p>.<p>Australia's National Rugby League (NRL) has lobbied hard to restart the suspended men's top-flight later this month, even as the clubs ponder whether they have the money to maintain a presence in the women's elite NRLW competition.</p>.<p>The Auckland-based Warriors, the only New Zealand club in the NRL, said their women's team might not survive budget cuts.</p>.<p>Warriors Chief Executive Cameron George said last week that their women's programme was an "additional spend".</p>.<p>"The women’s game has grown significantly in the New Zealand rugby league landscape over the last couple of years and we’ve invested heavily in it," he said.</p>.<p>"We take that very seriously but it’s also an additional spend that we’re going to have to reconsider."</p>