During Round 17, the AFL celebrates the role females play at all levels of Australian Rules Football, so hawthornfc.com.au has taken the opportunity to introduce fans to one of the Club’s female staff members.

Tanya Gallina has worked at an AFL club for a total of 11 years, first serving at Carlton and now the Hawks.

In between, Gallina spent 11 months at A-League soccer club Melbourne Victory before returning to her passion, the AFL.

One of five General Managers at the Club, Gallina serves as the General Manager of Marketing, Membership and Digital Media.

In her fourth season at the Hawks, Gallina said she has always felt like part of the team

“In my four years here, I certainly don’t feel like there’s any disparity between females progressing upwards in terms of management or the way females are treated within the Club,” she said.

“Hawthorn has always been welcoming, and I’ve never felt the difference personally, with the way we treat our staff.”

Having worked in the AFL for 11 years, Gallina has seen the transition first hand, as females have become increasingly involved at all levels of the AFL.

During her seven seasons at the Blues, Gallina worked her way up the ranks, eventually becoming manager of Carlton’s Membership department.

It was there, that Gallina reflected on the growing number of females involved in the AFL.

“There’s certainly more females that work within footy clubs and at higher levels too, in terms of management,” she said.

“When I became Membership manager at Carlton, clubs used to meet quarterly and there was probably only one or two other females.

“That has now increased, so certainly that involvement is a lot higher.”

Awareness of the roles women play in the AFL and in sport in general is the most important factor for the Club’s Marketing, Membership and Digital Media General Manager.

Gallina says though, that her preferences is to be acknowledged for her hard work.

“I enjoy the awareness factor and I like to hear the stories of how women are participating and what they’ve contributed to the game,” she said.

“The whole awareness thing is really quite brilliant. 

“But day-to-day, I just want to be noted for my hard work, and not because I’m a female doing it.”

Women make up over a third of Hawthorn’s full-time staff at the Ricoh Centre.

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Find out more about AFL Women's Round.