As we celebrate International Women’s Day at Stockport County, we’ve partnered up with our friends at Together to highlight the importance of women both in football and in business.
From the office, to the pitch, the boot room to the boardroom. Together’s new video, featuring County Ladies player Fran Davies, explores the parallel experiences of women in business and sports, two fields notoriously dominated by men.
As International Women’s Day 2024 (IWD) is celebrated around the world on 8th March, it’s a good time to reflect on the state of play for gender equity in the UK. The successes and achievements but also the challenges, and the distance still to go.
In recent years, we’ve seen an increase in the recognition of women in sport, spearheaded by our fearless Lionesses and, in business, more organisations are focusing on evening up the gender balance of their hierarchies. But many women still face a variety of challenges which hold them back from fulfilling their potential, especially in fields that have previously been the preserve of men.
This year’s International Women’s Day holds the mantra that ‘IWD belongs to everyone, everywhere’, and aims to #InspireInclusion by helping others to understand and value women’s inclusion, fostering a collective sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.
We chatted to County Ladies’ defender, Fran Davies, who starred in our new video, Different Worlds, Same Goal: IWD 2024, and asked her about the importance of role models in sport for young women.
“It’s been amazing to see the growth of the women’s game in England, especially since Euro 2022. One of the best ways to encourage girls to take up sport, or anything really, is to see women succeeding.”
“Women’s football hasn’t been an overnight success. It’s taken a long time to get where we are, with loads of really positive role models along the way that have pushed attitudes forward and not necessarily felt the spotlight they deserved.”
“Growing up, women’s matches were rarely shown on the TV, so it wasn’t until much older I began watching women’s football. Therefore, my footballing role models were mostly males. There were definitely some stand out female footballers though, such as Karen Carney and Alex Scott.
“Now, we’ve got WSL matches on TV most weekends and so many people watched the Euros and World Cup. Our attendances have improved considerably too – we’ve got the start of our own fans.”
Click here for more information from our partners, Together.
