Indian Australian lawyer and founder of the organisation Multicultural Women in Sport, Molina Asthana, has been named among the eight Change Our Game Ambassadors for 2023-24 by the minister for community sport of the Australian state of Victoria, Ros Spence. The inaugural game ambassador programme of the Victoria government is to amplify the voices of inspiring and influential women to help level the playing field and drive change for women and girls in sport.
Besides being the founder of Multicultural Women in Sport, Asthana also holds many other important positions including the current chair of Gymnastics Victoria. She serves on numerous other sports boards and advisory committees including Table Tennis Victoria, AFL South East Commission and the Australian Sports Commission.
“These eight inspiring, passionate women will promote the Change Our Game movement and shine a light on the issues that matter the most to them – ranging from accessibility of sport for women with a disability, to more opportunities for First Nations and culturally diverse women in sport, and beyond,” according to a press release from the office of the premier of Victoria. “Gender inequality continues to be widely recognised by both men and women as an issue in sport, with the new Change Our Game state of play survey showing people feel that fair and equal participation opportunities is the second biggest issue in sport,” the Victoria government release added.
Between now and International Women’s Day 2024, the ambassadors will use their platform to help drive this change, raising awareness and action on key issues and barriers for women in sport .
“So excited to be appointed a Change Our Game Ambassador with some other fabulous women in sport and look forward to amplifying the voice of women in sport, particularly of diverse women,” Asthana said after receiving the honour.
A lawyer practising commercial law, she is the principal of Swarup Asthana Lawyers and was a principal solicitor with the Victorian government solicitor’s office (VGSO) for over 10 years earlier. Having graduated with an LLM degree from Delhi University, she practised law in India for seven years before moving to Australia. Asthana sits on the board of the law institute of Victoria and is the co-founder of the Asian Australian Alliance.
Besides being the founder of Multicultural Women in Sport, Asthana also holds many other important positions including the current chair of Gymnastics Victoria. She serves on numerous other sports boards and advisory committees including Table Tennis Victoria, AFL South East Commission and the Australian Sports Commission.
“These eight inspiring, passionate women will promote the Change Our Game movement and shine a light on the issues that matter the most to them – ranging from accessibility of sport for women with a disability, to more opportunities for First Nations and culturally diverse women in sport, and beyond,” according to a press release from the office of the premier of Victoria. “Gender inequality continues to be widely recognised by both men and women as an issue in sport, with the new Change Our Game state of play survey showing people feel that fair and equal participation opportunities is the second biggest issue in sport,” the Victoria government release added.
Between now and International Women’s Day 2024, the ambassadors will use their platform to help drive this change, raising awareness and action on key issues and barriers for women in sport .
“So excited to be appointed a Change Our Game Ambassador with some other fabulous women in sport and look forward to amplifying the voice of women in sport, particularly of diverse women,” Asthana said after receiving the honour.
A lawyer practising commercial law, she is the principal of Swarup Asthana Lawyers and was a principal solicitor with the Victorian government solicitor’s office (VGSO) for over 10 years earlier. Having graduated with an LLM degree from Delhi University, she practised law in India for seven years before moving to Australia. Asthana sits on the board of the law institute of Victoria and is the co-founder of the Asian Australian Alliance.