It is sad it has come to this, but I am pleased and proud women’s voices will be heard

My initial feeling when I read the finished report was one of relief. Finally, everything was here in black and white, in a professional document, and it is no longer just me banging my head against a brick wall like I have been for some time.

I have a background as an athletics coach and before the existence of the Female Coaching Network, I was involved voluntarily with UK Athletics on the women’s coaching advisory group that launched in 2010.

The aim of that group was to try to increase the number of female coaches operating in the highperformance side of athletics and, while we were allocated funding and resources and delivered a number of projects, nothing ever changed. That is why I set up FCN – to make lasting sustainable change. The reason we partnered with Prof Leanne Norman to create this research paper is because I, and the FCN, have continually been ignored and often told I was merely passing on gossip and anecdotal stories without evidence. This paper was a way of providing evidence that nobody could argue against. People have to take notice now.

It is sad that it has come to this, but I am very pleased, proud and excited that women’s voices are now going to be heard. I am also incredibly grateful that the findings in this research are being taken as seriously as they are by the new UK Athletics administration headed up by Joanna Coates.

The issues in the report are historical and have long been ingrained in the sport as part and parcel of being a female coach.

The previous administration of UKA did launch a few projects aimed at increasing the number of female coaches, but none that had any interest in digging down into the real issues.

It has not been until this new administration, headed by Joanna, that the cultural issues of being a female leader and coach in athletics have been taken seriously.

Joanna was made aware of this research paper a couple of months ago and has been very welcoming and incredibly supportive, looking to properly understand what it means to be a female athletics coach in the UK. I know that Joanna wants to leave a legacy of everyone in the sport feeling safe.

I really hope all sports governing bodies read the report and understand that the traditional labels put on women coaches simply are not true.