Levelling the Playing Field brought together a range of stakeholders yesterday to consider issues around Women’s sport in Ireland. Co-hosted by the Department of Justice and Equality and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport it had a rich speaker list delivering gens of information that were painting a picture of how much had been done to ‘normalise’ Women’s sport and how much was still needed.
There was much to absorb and our aim is to do so and play back some of the key thoughts and our own detailed analysis on how improvement might be made over the coming days.
Monday:
An interview with Fiona Coghlan who summarised the work that needs to be done in her keynote address saying “We need to normalise sport in girls lives. We need to normalise Women’s sport in Irish Society.”
Tuesday:
A reflection on the potential for an Irish version of the ‘This Girl Can’ campaign which has generated significant traction in England albeit at a cost of £10 million. Could we run a similar campaign here, what would be the logic and the measurement underpinning it and what would it achieve?
Wednesday:
The Leadership Gap – 44% of those competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games were women but in leadership roles within sport on a global basis the number is only 15%. In terms of behavioural change it seems the biggest challenge will be in this area rather than in pure participation.
Thursday:
The Media Question – It’s one that absorbs those in the media and in sport. It’s also what normalises the telling of the stories around Women’s sport.
Friday:
The Sponsorship Question – We will talk to those who are putting their marketing muscle behind women’s sport across a range of area from gaelic games to rugby, soccer and hockey to horse racing. Are they winning?
For now here are some of the highlights from the day as expressed through the Sport for Business twitter feed yesterday and which together generated a social reach through the day of almost 500,000…
‘Every journey begins with a single step.’ Today was a step forward for #womeninsport in Ireland. pic.twitter.com/PePO32M6pL
— Sport for Business (@SportforBusines) October 28, 2015
We don’t have to look far to find winning stories of Irish #WomeninSport https://t.co/2o9Kixpp9J pic.twitter.com/Ff1ySaJhDq — Sport for Business (@SportforBusines) October 28, 2015
Top 5 sports for Irish #womeninsport 1 Exercise 2 Swimming 3 Running 4 Dancing 5 Cycling very individual focus pic.twitter.com/FOqUIauBms
— Sport for Business (@SportforBusines) October 28, 2015
44% participants at London 2012 were women. 15% in sports decision making roles – Sarah Keane. #womeninsport pic.twitter.com/q46uLhFbgj — Sport for Business (@SportforBusines) October 28, 2015
Women’s golf participation within sport. 35% Europe, 22% Ireland, 14% England. #womeninsport@IrishLadiesGolfpic.twitter.com/GaFRT43sjy
— Sport for Business (@SportforBusines) October 28, 2015
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