On International Women’s Day we need to be more visible and more vocal if we are to speed change

by Julie Kissick

FOR much of my working life I’ve been surrounded by men. Today, International Women’s Day, was no exception.

I’m used to that. Like many women who work in my field, I am familiar with being in the minority; the first or only female on the sports desk, at the training ground or in the press box.

After a career in journalism and broadcasting, I now run the Sports Journalism course at University of South Wales and all my students and colleagues are male. Some weeks I literally go for days without having a conversation with another woman.

This time next year, I hope I’m not replicating that experience.

That has nothing to do with the men I teach and work with. It has everything to do with the fact that I am looking forward to having some female students in the mix.

Turning tide

Courses like Sports Journalism are not unique in terms of gender imbalance. Women are under-represented in most areas of sport, including across Higher Education on most sport-related courses. But, the tide is turning.

Last year at USW a colleague of mine, MSc Sport Coaching and Performance course leader Mel Tuckwell, got a group of us together to develop a strategy for change.

We formed a working party which includes some impressive people; Wales manager Jayne Ludlow, Ben Williams from Welsh Netball, Hockey Wales’ Ria Male and Caroline Spanton from the Football Association of Wales Trust.

As well as supporting one another, we want to make sure the women who join us are mentored and developed positively, and in an appropriate environment. We want them to feel welcome.

We are also building partnerships with key organisations, identifying possible graduate internships within the sports industry and generally, getting on with things.

We are engaging and questioning.  We want things to change faster. We want them to be better. And we are not alone.

Watch Her Go

Earlier this week I was one of a 150 or so people, (mostly women), at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. The occasion was the launch of Watch Her Go, a movement promoting women in sport.

It was a night to be inspired, uplifted and motivated. It marked how far we have come and underlined how far there is to go until there is parity for women in sport.

Yes, there has been some progress.  In my industry, there have been some significant and far-reaching changes. There are more women broadcasters working in sport, more opportunities to watch women playing elite level sport, a greater acknowledgement of the achievements of women in sport.

But we cannot settle.  ‘Some’ progress isn’t enough. There has to be more.  We have to do more to champion equality and celebrate diversity.

As tennis legend Billie Jean King said: “If you can see it, you can be it.” And that is what we are all trying to do, make women in sport, whatever their roles, more visible.

The player who took 39 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles competitions and won the Battle of the Sexes match against Bobby Riggs in 1973, knows how important that is.

We are all influencers

“We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us and we all have an opportunity to share our lives, our experiences and our vision for the future,” King said when she collected her lifetime achievement award at the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year last year.

“Each of us is an influencer, and to all the athletes who truly have a platform, let’s continue to use the power of our voices and our actions to inspire others.”

For me, that is what today was all about – recognising the value of women in all areas of sport. IWD helps mark the struggles many of us had in paving the way for those who follow and lets everyone who wants to listen know that we are working to make change happen.

Sport speaks a universal language. It is a powerful communication tool. In the right spirit, it brings people together.

But it can only do that if we are ALL prepared to play our part in making every aspect of it equal.

#WatchHerGo #Amdani