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Members logging in for the latest Women in Football webinar this week enjoyed insights from inside the #GetOnside campaign, demonstrating how much has been achieved since its launch last September.

The event was hosted by Women in Football CEO Yvonne Harrison, with a panel comprising:

• Sophie Downey Girls on the Ball women's football content specialist
• Lucy Keeling Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead, Aston Villa FC
• Rachel O'Sullivan Girls on the Ball women's football content specialist
• Ben Purkiss Former PFA Chair and now Clifford Chance lawyer
• Sharon Uka Football coach, teacher and #GetOnside ambassador

The panel began by considering their reasons for becoming involved in #GetOnside in the first instance. One of Aston Villa's three pledges for the campaign was to create content highlighting the roles of women employees. Lucy explained that she was "looking for a proactive way to showcase women in the club in varying roles" and that this pledge "gave us a mechanism to be proactive and profile these women."

She added: "The pledges have been really well received and the case studies have given a voice to these women – and we want to do more."

• Watch the videos showcasing Villa's women: Kerri | Angela

Girls on the Ball's pledge, similarly, was to highlight the work of other women – in this case, other women creating football content to share it online. Their motivation for this was largely borne out of their own experiences and the belief that talented creators deserved a wider audience and the chance to make a living.

 

Professionalisation

For nine years before Girls on the Ball became a professional project, explained Sophie, "it was a passion project". She reasoned that "the thing about the women's game at the moment is that the game's professionalised, now we need to think about everything else. People with a skill like design should be getting paid for their work, not being expected to do it for nothing."

And mutual support would be crucial in achieving this, suggested Rachel. "Especially in the women's game, people are always willing to help and give advice. For other people who maybe like us are running a passion project, we wanted to try and give them support as part of our #GetOnside pledge."

For his #GetOnside pledge Ben Purkiss, former chair of the Professional Footballers' Association, will support young women targeting careers in the football industry, because he believes "you need female representation at the decision-making levels of the game alongside male allies in order to make real active steps".

So what of those who are benefitting from the pledges made by others? The Player Care Group joined #GetOnside by funding a place for a woman on its Certificate in Player Care course, and Sharon Uka was the successful applicant. At the webinar she spoke enthusiastically about the pledge and the support of Women in Football more generally for her career.

 

Right direction

"I stumbled across the Player Care Group certificate pledge," admitted Sharon, "and honestly, if I didn’t sign up I would have been regretting it all my life. [Women in Football] is a community for anybody and I in particular understand how hard it is to be a coach in the industry.

"I hope through this I get to meet more like-minded people. Eventually I want to become a WIF mentor, it’s actually a dream of mine! As women we don’t think that we can, but Women in Football [makes it] so easy to find someone who will help to push you in the right direction to allow you to grow."

Prompted by the progress apparent from #GetOnside outcomes, the panel considered the professional situation of women in football more widely at this moment in time. Lucy reflected: "Where we’re at with the women’s game, we’ve got more girls playing than we’ve ever had… there are significant commercial opportunities and sometimes it's challenging, but you have to open yourself to these opportunities and find the allies who can help you."

Panelists agreed that while football has become a more gender-equal place, much more remains to be done to level the playing field – and for that reason #GetOnside remains vital.

Rachel said: "We still often feel like we have to justify why we should be allowed to play football, commentate on football or be a pundit. We have to move on from here… We need to elevate the voices of those who've been in the game a long time. There's lots of people who've been working hard but don't get those opportunities, as they work in the women's game."

 

More inclusive

Ben added: "I think things have moved on, I think people are significantly more inclusive. [But] one of the things I would like to see is for the men's game to also look to learn from the women's game.

"You're trying to change embedded, ingrained mindsets that have been set for a significant amount of time. It’s about education, educating others and the decision-makers in that club. Educate them why this is the right thing to do and why is it beneficial to the club. Football clubs need to be inclusive and forward-thinking."

As Yvonne wrapped up and concluded "I like the idea of us being less apologetic – that's a definite take-home for me", both the panel and the audience warmly agreed.

Find out more about #GetOnside

Watch this and other webinars on our YouTube playlist

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