UP335 The Lionesses, 'Open Doors' and the reality of being a woman in football

Aug 22, 2023

Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, discusses the reality of being a woman in football. The podcast sheds light on the challenges faced by women in the professional game, including discrimination and sexism. It explores the significance of women's football in raising issues and creating change, the lack of representation in the industry, and the potential of quotas for increasing gender diversity. The podcast also discusses the influence of ESG investment and emphasizes the importance of taking action and joining the conversation on women in football.

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Introduction

00:00 • 3min

The Significance of Women's Football: Raising Issues and Creating Change

03:29 • 13min

Recognizing and Embracing the Differences

16:36 • 24min

Lack of representation and challenges in the football industry

40:53 • 7min

Quotas and Progress in Women's Football

47:49 • 11min

The Potential of ESG and the Role of Chief Impact Officer in Football Clubs

58:28 • 3min

Taking Action and Joining the Conversation on Women in Football

01:01:08 • 3min

"With men, with FIFA, you will find open doors. Just push the doors. They are open."
That was Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, in the run up to last Sunday's Women's World Cup final between England's Lionesses and La Roja, Spain's national team, the tournament winners.
But how open are those doors, really?
New research from Women in Football sheds light on the reality that lies below the rhetoric and PR spiel.
In many ways, far from welcoming women in to football, the professional game remains stubbornly hostile.
Richard is joined by Yvonne Harrison, chief executive of Women In Football, and Monique Chaudhuri, board member of WiF who has just stepped down after five years as non executive director of Brentford FC.

We discuss the burden being carried by today's generation of young professional players; why we don't know how many women work in football and the hard work that lies ahead to capitalise on this summer's World Cup.

Read the Women In Football 2023 survey results here.
Some highlights:

82% of women working in football having experienced discrimination at work – up from 66% in 2020
23% of those who experienced gender-based discrimination at work felt able to report it – a significant improvement on the 2020 survey, when the figure was just 12% but still a way to go
47% of women working in football have experienced sexism in the workplace – while this figure is still high at almost half, it is also an improvement on the 2020 figure of 65%
89% said they were optimistic about the prospects of women in the football industry – up 27 percentage points from only 62% in 2016 but only 27% of women say they are encouraged to forge pathways to the highest positions in the game
In 2020 only 45% agreed that football was an environment where women can excel – but this was up to 67% in 2023.

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