Former Matilda Tal Karp hosted the Women in Football Network event, at which female players, administrators and referees gathered at the ground to discuss women's future in the world game.

Minister for Women Fiona Richardson said females had long suffered a lack of recognition for their achievement on and off the field.

"Standing in a place like this [the MCG] and seeing the millions and millions of dollars that have been spent celebrating men's sport, and celebrating and paying homage to men playing sport in a place, a venue like this, I ask myself quite often – where is the female equivalent of the MCG? It just doesn't exist."

Women were too often told they were no good at sport, she said.

"I think when you look around, not just the MCG but a variety of sporting settings, you do see very much the celebration of male sport," she said. "That's terrific, however, I want to a see the celebration of female sport and female achievement, not just at this level but at the local level as well." Richardson said there was clear evidence linking equal treatment of women in the public realm and reduced rates of domestic violence.

Countries with better attitudes towards women recorded lower rates of violence in the home.

"Sport in Victoria is a bit of a religion – if you have that place treating women unequally and not promoting women into leadership positions, it sends the wrong message about the value of women," she said.

"Today is not just about ensuring that our daughters have the same opportunities as our sons, this is about making sure our daughters are safe from harm."

The Victorian government recently signed a sponsorship deal believed to be worth between $3million and $5 million with AFL team the Western Bulldogs to take up to three games a year to the regional city of Ballarat.

That was on top of the $31.5million upgrade of Ballarat's major events precinct to which it had already committed – almost half of which had been assigned to upgrading Eureka Stadium, which will have light towers and an AFL-standard digital scoreboard.

The decision was made at a time when many sporting bodies do not pay their female players a full-time wage – the Matildas recently had a lengthy fight with Football Federation Australia over pay and conditions, achieving a jump to $41,000 a year for top players, up from a base salary of $21,000.

When questioned about the decision, Richardson said no one was immune to unconscious bias.

She said her gender equality strategy, for which the government launched a consultation paper this week, would look at how at how to keep the government accountable for fairness in all areas, including sport funding.

"As Women's Minister I'm arguing passionately for equality in funding, in decision-making, in leadership positions," she said.

But she did not commit to allocating funding for women's and men's sports equally. "Ultimately, that's a matter for the government, but I can't see a government that is so determined to change outcomes in violence against women just pay lip service to this, I can't imagine it."

Participants in the event prepared a report to present to representatives of FFA and Football Federation Victoria.

In it they outlined priority areas for improving conditions for women in all areas of the game, naming equitable funding, wages and access to facilities as key.

Introducing mentoring programs and support for aspiring leaders would be important to help get more women on the FFV leadership team and into key positions at club level. A zero-tolerance approach to poor spectator and player behaviour should be a priority for getting girls into refereeing, the report said.