Women in Sport Digital Conference

Monday 22nd February 2021

Digital Event, Broadcast Live

Key Points
  • Understanding how to regain momentum after COVID-19: learning from lived experience
  • Engaging women and young girls in Sport: improving accessibility to help create more opportunities and attract individuals to careers in Sport
  • Levelling the playing field for Women's sport: overcoming challenges including pay disparity, broadcasting prevalence, and sponsorship
  • Enhancing the number of women in leadership roles across sport: in boardrooms, executive teams, and coaching roles
  • Click Here to Secure your Place
Overview
Confirmed Speakers
  • Heather Knight OBE, England Cricket Captain and Women’s Cricket World Cup Winner 2017
  • Stephanie Hilborne OBE, Chief Executive, Women in Sport
  • Marilyn Okoro, Former Track and Field Athlete & Bronze Olympic Medal 2008
  • Mark England OBE, Director of Sport Services, Team GB
  • Sarah Powell, Chief Executive, Sport Wales
  • Kelly Simmons MBE, Director of the Women’s Game, The Football Association
  • Katy Ritchie, Director of Development, England Netball
  • Lynne Cantwell, Chair, Ireland’s Women in Sport Steering Committee & Former Irish Rugby Player
  • Jo Ward, Former Professional Tennis Player & Coach Education and Curriculum Manager, Lawn Tennis Association
  • Kate Dale, Strategic and Campaign Lead – This Girl Can, Sport England
  • Nick Read, Managing Director, Vitality
  • Jade Lauriston, Sports Producer, BBC
  • Mandy Ayres, Co-Founder, Brand You:Sport


Westminster Insight’s Women in Sport Digital Conference will explore the ongoing challenges to gender disparity in the sporting industry. Join us to explore key issues, from grassroots participation, to pay inequality and how to promote and sustain women in leadership roles.

Special focus will be given to the impact of COVID-19 on the sector, understanding the next steps and how to regain lost ground in women’s sport.

Hear from Women’s Cricket World Cup Winner, Heather Knight OBE on her experience as a professional athlete during the pandemic and how to build a positive culture to help both professional and amateur athletes thrive during and after COVID-19.

Sharing ideas for increasing accessibility to sport for all women, you will hear from the This Girl Can campaign and how it has helped drive grassroots participation among women and girls. Understanding how to tap into commercial potential of women’s sport to help increase investment and visibility of the sector.

Mark England OBE from Team GB will identify key barriers preventing women and girls from taking part in sport and how success can help to accelerate progress in women’s sport. You will also explore how to improve the number of women in leaderships roles within Sport to help boost representation and go beyond the 30% target.

Agenda
Start

09:10 - 09:20
Chair’s Opening Remark

 
Speakers

Stephanie Hilborne OBE Chief Executive, Women in Sport

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09:20 - 09:50
Analysing the Impact of COVID-19 on Women’s Sport and Life Beyond COVID-19

 
  • Understanding the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women’s sport, creating further inequality in the development of both women’s elite athletes, amateur sport and all those working within women’s sport
  • Exploring the next steps, gaining back momentum and accelerating progress to make up lost ground in women’s sport
  • Implementing new funding to help increase participation and support elite athletes through the pandemic
  • Improving the number of women in leaderships roles within the sector to help boost representation

    Questions and Discussion 09:40 - 09:50 

09:50 - 10:10
Joint Session: Learning from Athletes Experience of COVID-19

 
  • Hear from elite and amateur athletes on how the pandemic impacted competition, training, and participation
  • Learning from personal experiences, ensuring emotional, social, and financial support to help promote positive mental health and wellbeing
  • Creating a positive culture to help both professional and amateur athletes thrive after COVID-19
Speakers

Heather Knight OBE England Cricket Captain

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10:10 - 10:40
Joint Discussion: Growing Participation at a Grass Roots Level to Encourage Women into Careers in Sport

 
  • Increasing integration to help encourage girls and young women participate in sport
  • Ensuring professional clubs, organisations and bodies invest and promote women in sport
  • Enabling sport to become a viable career option for women both as an athlete or within the sector  
  • Overcoming the funding gap to help bridge the divide between man and women’s sport at a local and community level
Speakers

Katy Ritchie Director of Development, England Netball

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Kate Dale Strategic Lead for Campaigns, Sport England

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10:40 - 11:10
Sport for Everyone: Building a More Inclusive Culture

 
  • Ensuring accessibility to sport for all women and intersectional representation to help improve involvement
  • Implementing targeted initiatives to support underrepresented groups such as young women and girls from BME, LGBTQI+ and older women
  • Creating role models for young women and girls to look up to and drive participation 
Questions and Discussion 11:00 - 11:10
Speakers

Lynne Cantwell Chair, Ireland’s Women in Sport Steering Committee & Former Irish Rugby Player

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11:10 - 11:30
Break

 

11:30 - 12:00
Joint Session: Understanding how Professional Success Drives Participation, Accessibility and Diversity in Women’s Sport

 
  • Increasing the visibility of women in sport and their successes, sharing their stories to encourage women and girls to participate
  • Identifying barriers preventing women or girls from taking part in sport
  • Promoting the benefits of taking part in sport or exercise to help increase the number of women taking part
  • Helping women transition from amateur to elite athletes
Speakers

Mark England OBE Director of Sport Services, Team GB

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12:00 - 12:45
Panel: Levelling the Playing Field for Women’s Sport

 
  • Tapping into commercial and sponsorship to help increase investment            
  • Developing further broadcasting opportunities to showcase women’s sport and attract new fans and spectators  
  • Challenging the pay disparity in sport for women 
Speakers

Jade Lauriston Sports Producer, BBC

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Kelly Simmons MBE Director of the Women’s Game, The Football Association

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Nicholas Read Managing Director of the Vitality Programme, Vitality

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12:45 - 13:30
Panel: Promoting Women into Leadership Roles within Sport

 
  • Ensuring more women in leadership roles across sport including in boardrooms, executive teams, and coaching
  • Creating a sustainable pipeline of female leadership talent within sport to go beyond the 30% target
  • Going further than targets, changing attitudes, cultures, and representation to build a diverse sporting industry
Speakers

Mandy Ayres Co-Founder, Brand You:Sport

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Sarah Powell Chief Executive, Sport Wales

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Marilyn Okoro Former Track and Field Athelete

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13:30 - 13:35
Chair's Closing Remarks

 
End
Speakers

Kelly Simmons MBE Director of the Women’s Game, The Football Association

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Sarah Powell Chief Executive, Sport Wales

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Jade Lauriston Sports Producer, BBC

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Lynne Cantwell Chair, Ireland’s Women in Sport Steering Committee & Former Irish Rugby Player

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Heather Knight OBE England Cricket Captain

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Katy Ritchie Director of Development, England Netball

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Mark England OBE Director of Sport Services, Team GB

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Mandy Ayres Co-Founder, Brand You:Sport

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Stephanie Hilborne OBE Chief Executive, Women in Sport

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Kate Dale Strategic Lead for Campaigns, Sport England

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Ben Dean Director for Sport, Gambling and Ceremonials, DCMS

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Marilyn Okoro Former Track and Field Athelete

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Nicholas Read Managing Director of the Vitality Programme, Vitality

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Venue details

Digital Event Broadcast Live

Speakers
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