To the players of National Rugby League side Canterbury, she is known as "Aunty," but in the corporate world Bulldogs CEO Raelene Castle "is considered the new face of rugby league," according to Brad Walter of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD.
Castle, who "is set to become the first female boss of a premiership-winning team if Canterbury triumph in Sunday's grand final, has been opening doors the game has rarely had access to since her appointment 15 months ago." She "is also seen as a pioneer for women from all walks of life and was last week named equal 42nd" with Richmond Australian Football League club President Peggy O'Neal on a list of the country's 50 most influential females announced at the Australian Women's Weekly's "Women of the Future" luncheon. While Castle readily admits there "is a certain fascination about a woman being in charge of a club whose reputation is still being rebuilt after the scandals of a decade ago, the former Netball New Zealand chief executive still has to convince people she is the real deal." Castle: "I have had a couple of instances where people have gone, that is that club that was in trouble with things before, but I think that there is no doubt having a female CEO no matter which way you cut it instantly changes that perception. That is good as a first step but you still have to deliver the commercial benefits that they are looking for, so it doesn't matter if you are male or female, it is absolutely about capability because tokenism is the worst thing in the world and in my view it makes the glass ceiling even higher." Castle "was taken aback by the reaction of fans and particularly women to her since she became Canterbury chief executive." She said, "The number of young women, in their teens or early 20s, who stop me in the street and say 'I think what you are doing is amazing, I hope that one day I get the opportunity to do what you are doing,' that is massively empowering"
(SMH, 10/2).
