Survey reveals extent of pandemic’s effect on women’s mental health
Nearly 60 pc report negative impact caused by coronavirus Three-quarters say men in game treated more favourably
Almost 60 per cent of women working in football say that their mental health has been negatively affected by the coronavirus crisis and more than three-quarters reported differences in how male colleagues had been treated during the pandemic.
The research, commissioned by Women in Football, has been described as a “cry for help” from an indispensable section of the football industry, with some respondents still reporting “institutionalised sexism” and highlighting a “lad” or “machista” culture.
In one organisation, it was reported that a series of staff members had come forward in recent months citing experiences of racism and discrimination, including sexual harassment. The respondent said that their senior management team was split between those who “weren’t interested” and those who took the information seriously.
Despite women making up less than 15 per cent of its workforce, it was reported that another organisation had made almost 40 per cent of its female staff redundant – around a third of all the staff cuts.
Jane Purdon, chief executive of Women in Football, said: “English football could not exist without women – it makes sense to listen.”
Purdon also said that the one overwhelming message was “childcare, childcare, childcare” and that this applied not just to employers in the football industry but also the Government. “The Government wants to get the economy moving,” she said. “A critical first step is to get childcare back.”
Mental health was another major theme and, while Purdon described the Duke of Cambridge’s Heads Up campaign with football as “fantastic in getting the nation talking about mental health”, she said that the research highlighted football’s need to “look after its people”.
As well as the 59 per cent of respondents who felt their mental health had been negatively affected by the pandemic, around half said they felt anxious about the future.
The research, conducted by Sports Marketing Surveys, investigated the impact of Covid-19 on women working across all football sectors, including managers, players, match officials, directors, media, retail, accountancy, ticketing and legal staff. Almost a third of women said their pay had decreased during the pandemic, even though more people’s workload had increased.
A total of 78 per cent felt that changes in their organisation had affected men and women differently. Less than half of respondents said that they were working as normal and almost a third said that they felt anxious about equality within the workplace. The vast majority, 88 per cent, had been working from home and, in their anonymous written feedback, the issue of childcare was repeatedly raised.
Many noted how their female colleagues seemed to be taking on most of the responsibility with children and that there was “an unspoken assumption” that scheduled meetings for men took precedence.
“This makes me feel vulnerable in my role and is more strongly felt given we are working remotely,” said one. Another said that the discrepancy was “to the detriment” of women’s “work and work-life balance”. Others said that their anecdotal experience was of women being more likely to be put on furlough, reduced hours or made redundant. “Women are let go, while men still have a job,” said one.
Another said that “almost all of the mothers I work with have been struggling significantly through the pandemic, often to the detriment of performance and mental health”.
There was concern, as well as cautious optimism, over the future of women’s football. The focus on getting the men’s professional game back and the current lack of visibility for women’s sport was highlighted, but the fear of redundancies across all sectors of the game was clear. Only 40 per cent of respondents felt that their job was secure and exactly half thought that future opportunities in football would be limited.