Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Fighting against sexism on – and off – the pitch
ABRISTOL Rovers footballer is tackling sexism on the pitch – and striving for equality in the workplace.
Defender Alva Lang, 26, part of the title-winning Rovers side promoted to the South West Premier
Division this season, told how she joined with her team-mates to call out a sexist man who said that women players could not improve their sprints because of their physiology.
Rovers support the charity #HerGameToo – which is fighting sexism in football and is supported by leading figures in the game such as the former England player and TV presenter Alex Scott.
Alva, who lives in Clifton, said: “Most women in football have encountered sexism. We had a training session in pre-season where a man told our trainer to stop us doing sprints because we would never be able to go faster due to our physiology as women.
“Our trainer told the man that his comments were entirely inappropriate and he did leave.
“As a female, it is easier to confront these situations when you are in a big group, as we were in pre-season, but what we are looking to do is support women so they feel encouraged to challenge sexism when they are on their own too.
“We are fighting against discrimination not just on the pitch but how it affects people such as supporters too.
“If you are a female supporter your opinion can be disregarded because of your sex.
“It’s taken a long time to get where we are now but things are improving all the time and we need to carry on challenging sexism and improving the environment for women in sport.
“We are finding a lot of younger teams coming into the game which is a great sign and really inspiring.”
Alva said she has suffered sexism and harassment on social media and also while exercising at the gym in Bristol.
She said: “I have had inappropriate messages and comments on social media which are really uncalled for, but it happens so often to myself and other females that it was not seen as a big issue when clearly it is really worrying.
“As an athlete, I am at the gym a lot and you get a lot of guys trying to help you but very much in a sexualised way. I have to tell them that this is my safe space.”
Alva first came to Bristol five years ago from her native Sweden to study business at the University of the West of England.
She started playing for Rovers two years ago while studying and plays as an amateur without payment – a world away from the £500,000-a-week salaries of the best male players in the Premiership.
Alva is fighting for equality in the workplace, too with the full support of her employer, Bristolbased Brightpearl, one of the city’s fastest-growing tech firms. It provides a back office retail operating system for retailers.
She is active in the Women In
Tech support group at Brightpearl where she is striving for equality for the growing number of women taking up roles in the sector.
She said: “Brightpearl is trying to encourage more of its female staff to get involved in Women In Tech. It’s about helping women to break through the glass ceiling in tech and really fulfil their potential. We are always being encouraged to bring other women on board.”
Alva manages 65 accounts for retailers all over the world.
“Having an interest in football is a great way to bond with customers,” she said.
“I am Swedish – I am quite modest – so I don’t talk about playing for Rovers too much.”