Australian journalist and feminist Melanie Tait has begun a crowdfunding page in protest at the unequal prize money in the potato race at an annual local agricultural show in Robertson, New South Wales. The Robertson Potato Race is held every year in the quaint farming town known as ‘Robbo’ to its denizens and nestled into the New South Wales Southern Highlands. It is described as “the world pinnacle in potato racing” and features competitors scrambling 400 meters around an oval track with a sack of spuds on each of their backs.
However, this year’s race has been clouded by controversy regarding its unequal prizemoney. First place in the men’s event – in which runners lug a hefty 50kg bag of potatoes – would see the winner net a cool AU$1,000 (US$794), with $300 going to the first local over the line.
The prizemoney for the women’s race – in which competitors carry around a significantly-lighter 12.5kg bag – stands at $200, with no such incentive for the first local finisher.
Concerned over the "disappointing" gender pay gap in the potato race, Tait, a Robbo local and journalist for national broadcaster ABC, set out to balance the prizemoney for men and women before the race date on March 3 through a GoFundMe account.
“That the prizemoney is so unequal makes me so disappointed. Disappointed for the woman who wins. Disappointed for the young girls watching a huge deal being made of the men’s race. Disappointed for the fans of the race who would love to see the women’s race valued as much as the men’s,” Tait said in an interview with the Guardian.
https://www.gofundme.com/robertson-potato-womens-race