Happy to Health with Dr Preeya
Jun 7, 2026 · 32 min · 12 segments
You likely know Daisy Pearce as a legend of AFLW. She joins Dr Preeya to discuss the challenges of being in a male dominated field, why team sport is so important for women, parenthood and her journey…
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Because there's data from the UN, Daisy, this is like my other really nerdy hat, but that suggests that girls by the age of 14 drop out of team sports at twice the rate of boys.
And then when you look at the, uh, Fortune 500, the female CEOs, 80% of them said, "I persisted with a team sport through puberty, and that was a big reason for my success."
So it's like girls drop out at this pivotal moment through puberty, you know, periods start, breast changes, maybe mood, hormonal stuff, and when they need it most, they drop out.
I, I stopped playing footy about that age, and because I wasn't allowed to play football, but I got into other sports.
Um, and those numbers are, you know, stark, but to me a bit, like, unsurprising, 'cause I, I mean, you'd remember too, and I've s- I've watched my much younger s- sister go through the same thing where you start being so aware of your changing body, the, the massive differences in the female body that can start to evolve at that time, all the different social pressures that, that pop up then, not to mention academic pressures and expectations around what you should be striving for and achieving.
And I think because sport hasn't necessarily been seen as a viable pathway because there hasn't been opportunities at the elite level, there was this sense of like, "Oh, what's the point?" Like, there was a, there was a good, good reason for the boys to aspire to be the best they could be because there's a genuine career pathway in it, but for girls, that wasn't as prominent for a long time.
So that push and the, the sense that the endeavors and the striving in sport was worth something [laughs] probably wasn't there from everyone else.
Um, so I can see why it's a factor, and it's something that still creates barriers, whether it's, um, you know, you see it all the time at junior levels, and it's getting better and better, but the simp- simple importance of a properly fitted uniform.
When in so many clubs, like, girls are given the old kit or the, um, the recycled kit from the ones that the boys don't use, and they're not properly fitted to a w- a, a girl's body, and they're, they're not custom sized.
And all of that, that can be the reason why they're, they're a bit uncomfortable and don't come back.
T- I, to be honest, I don't know exactly one thing as to why I-- that didn't stop me.
I think I just had this burning passion to be good at it, and I think for everyone that said you shouldn't, I, I th- like I's mentioned about my parents, I think that sort of upbringing and their values, it fueled my fire rather than deterred me.
But that, that's probably, you know, underplaying some of the [laughs] challenges that I had and was able to navigate.
But yeah, I think it was a combination of a whole different things as to why I kept going.
Some of it was just, you know, one person believing in you and, um, giving you an opportunity.
I think surrounding yourself with those types that, that do see a point and are like-minded was really important.
Because there's data from the UN, Daisy, this is like my other really nerdy hat, but that suggests that girls by the age of 14 drop out of team sports at twice the rate of boys.
And then when you look at the, uh, Fortune 500, the female CEOs, 80% of them said, "I persisted with a team sport through puberty, and that was a big reason for my success."
So it's like girls drop out at this pivotal moment through puberty, you know, periods start, breast changes, maybe mood, hormonal stuff, and when they need it most, they drop out.
I, I stopped playing footy about that age, and because I wasn't allowed to play football, but I got into other sports.
Um, and those numbers are, you know, stark, but to me a bit, like, unsurprising, 'cause I, I mean, you'd remember too, and I've s- I've watched my much younger s- sister go through the same thing where you start being so aware of your changing body, the, the massive differences in the female body that can start to evolve at that time, all the different social pressures that, that pop up then, not to mention academic pressures and expectations around what you should be striving for and achieving.
And I think because sport hasn't necessarily been seen as a viable pathway because there hasn't been opportunities at the elite level, there was this sense of like, "Oh, what's the point?" Like, there was a, there was a good, good reason for the boys to aspire to be the best they could be because there's a genuine career pathway in it, but for girls, that wasn't as prominent for a long time.
So that push and the, the sense that the endeavors and the striving in sport was worth something [laughs] probably wasn't there from everyone else.
Um, so I can see why it's a factor, and it's something that still creates barriers, whether it's, um, you know, you see it all the time at junior levels, and it's getting better and better, but the simp- simple importance of a properly fitted uniform.
When in so many clubs, like, girls are given the old kit or the, um, the recycled kit from the ones that the boys don't use, and they're not properly fitted to a w- a, a girl's body, and they're, they're not custom sized.
And all of that, that can be the reason why they're, they're a bit uncomfortable and don't come back.
T- I, to be honest, I don't know exactly one thing as to why I-- that didn't stop me.
I think I just had this burning passion to be good at it, and I think for everyone that said you shouldn't, I, I th- like I's mentioned about my parents, I think that sort of upbringing and their values, it fueled my fire rather than deterred me.
But that, that's probably, you know, underplaying some of the [laughs] challenges that I had and was able to navigate.
But yeah, I think it was a combination of a whole different things as to why I kept going.
Some of it was just, you know, one person believing in you and, um, giving you an opportunity.
I think surrounding yourself with those types that, that do see a point and are like-minded was really important.
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