Our decision to hold this year’s International Women’s Day event in Manchester reflected our relationship with this diverse city, built on the strength and indomitable spirit of the women who live and work here.

With an agenda centred around our commitment to women in sport, what followed were powerful accounts of leadership, bravery, energy and that famous Northern grit, the foundations for change and fair play.

Our first speaker, Yvonne O’Malley, Head of Leisure, Events and Contracts at Manchester City Council set the tone. Yvonne is an advocate for sport as a catalyst for urban development and community inclusion.

Girls as young as five, said Yvonne, feel they don’t belong in sport, the underlying narrative suggesting they are not as competitive, or as good, as boys, and not “designed for it”.

As a result, only 35% feel confident when playing sport, and 43% of those who once loved sport disengage with it in their teenage years.

“Women’s sport isn’t underperforming, it’s underinvested,” said Yvonne, who explained the impact of Manchester’s leisure infrastructure in attracting high‑profile events that bring us together, creating long‑term social and economic benefits.

Rachel Fraser, Internal Communications and Inclusion Director at Manchester United, offered an inspiring first-hand account about the challenges women must overcome to thrive, nurture and effect change in work, sport and traditionally male dominated fields.“All of us women are dealing with a hidden load,” she said.

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Nikki Sehgal, General Manager at Media for All (known as MEFA) then gave a brave, moving account of her very recent journey into motherhood and how it has shaped and inspired her. “My ambition soared. Not in spite of becoming a mother, but because of it,” she said.

Olivia Colling was recently appointed Executive Director of The Hepworth Wakefield art gallery. Named after the artist and sculptor Barbara Hepworth, it’s one of the UK’s most successful art galleries and museums. Olivia talked about the legacy of Hepworth, one of the most important artists of the 20^th century, yet whose work attracted trite newspaper commentary about her build and gender. “It’s all the more surprising that one of the most internationally famous sculptors of our time should be a frail and reserved Yorkshire woman in her late fifties”, opined the Observer in 1962.

In the art world, “women have taken a back seat to men – and our job is to change that,” said Olivia.

Next up was Kathy Brooke, co-founder of Be Your Own Coach, a personal development digital platform aimed at businesses and individuals. She explored how our minds respond to obstacles like judgement or lack of support, and how to work through these responses to build intention and potential.

What resonated most was Kathy’s point about changing confidence (all too often reliant on unsolicited opinion, encouraging self-doubt) to intention, taking back control of the outcome.

Women who defy convention

BAFTA winner Helen Tither produced and directed The Corinthians: We Were The Champions, a documentary which tells the story of the original suffragettes of football. They defied an FA ban to become one of the most successful women’s teams the UK ever had. Helen talked about the legacy of Manchester’s Corinthians, joined by one of the surviving players, Dr Monica Curran, who reminded us all that “your opinion is as great and valid as everyone else’s, and failure is a sign you’re learning.”

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We completed the morning with a discussion around the challenges women still have to overcome to avoid being left on the bench in their careers and in life. Our panellists were Charlotte Beech, Head of Creative Futures, EssenceMediacom’s creative media and partnerships division across the North; silver medal winning Olympian Asia Hogan-Rochester, the Canadian rugby sevens and premiership rugby fifteens player with Sale Sharks Women; Emma Slater, Regional Managing Director of Wavemaker North; and former rugby international Lisa O’Keefe MBE, Secretary General of the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport, the world’s largest network dedicated to advancing gender equality in sport.

Investment in grassroots sports to build genuine opportunity, innovation at every level from kit to language, and the role of male allies in overturning discriminatory policies were strong messages which came through.

“Everyone – be a champion for women’s sport. Buy tickets, buy merch, support a local team, bring a friend, buy a pint at your local club. This is what makes the difference,” concluded Lisa.

The women of Manchester have been making a stand ever since the city established the suffrage movement in 1867. Almost 160 years on, not enough has changed.

The work to accelerate progress for women and girls continues. Our event was a reminder of this.

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1.3 million girls drop out of sport. That’s not ok

Women in Sport has teamed up with Ocean across three cities to highlight this shocking statistic, which demonstrates how many girls are still missing out on the benefits sport can bring.

Despite the huge growth of women’s sport and the phenomenal success of our elite sportswomen witnessed in recent years, the charity’s research continues to show that girls – especially teenage girls – are far more likely than boys to drop out of sport or not take part at all.

Even the rate at which teenage girls dream of reaching the top in sport is declining. Despite the huge success of the Lionesses and Red Roses last summer, just 23% now say they dream of sporting glory. That’s the lowest since Women in Sport started tracking this trend in 2020, and a stark contrast with the 53% of boys who dream of being top sportsmen.

Research has shown that teenage girls don’t feel that they belong in sport. They feel judged, especially by boys. They worry about not having the ‘right’ body. They worry about their safety. The reality of female puberty hits hard, with 70% avoiding sport when they’re on their period. Even girls who consider themselves sporty struggle to stay active amongst the pressures of schoolwork and the fact that there are simply far fewer opportunities for girls to play.

Stephanie Hilborne OBE, CEO of Women in Sport, said: “At Women in Sport, we know the benefits that playing sport and being active bring to women and girls throughout their lives. At no life stage are the potential benefits greater than for teenage girls. Facing a crisis in their mental health and the unprecedented pressures of growing up in a social media age where misogyny is rife, sport should be an outlet for teenage girls; a space where they can find joy and escape. And yet for too many girls this isn’t the case. We’re grateful to Ocean Outdoor for their support in highlighting this injustice.”

Striking oil paintings of 15 women are appearing across Ocean Outdoor screens. Behind each portrait is a powerful message about multiculturalism

Over the past five months, with minimum fanfare or explanation, extraordinary portraits of women have been appearing in large format across Ocean’s city centre and roadside network of screens in Glasgow.

Each of the 15 women featured has a powerful story to tell – stories about immigration, multiculturalism, of building new lives in Glasgow. About the role of women in modern day society. Stories that matter now more than ever.

The photorealism oil on canvas works is by the contemporary Scottish artist Gerard M Burns, who has drawn together the women into a single exhibition because he “wanted to tell the stories of the women shaping Glasgow today.”

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Gerard’s gallery exhibition, called Mother Glasgow – also the name of the city’s unofficial anthem popularised by Hue and Cry – opened at The Glasgow Collective on East Campbell Street on 8^th March.

The participating women are drawn from all walks of life – business, the arts, healthcare, hospitality, politics, faith, charity, engineering, science and media. All of them represent strength, identity, resilience, creativity and the heart and soul of Glasgow. 

Marc Keenan, Managing Director, Ocean Scotland, said: “This project highlights the stories and spirit of the women who define our great city. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate these role models and Gerard’s paintings than across our estate. This is The Art of Outdoor at its very best. I encourage everyone to visit the exhibition.”

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Not just men in muddy boots

With the backing of Liverpool Media Wall, a collaborative awareness campaign across Liverpool is working to challenge outdated perceptions of the construction industry, encouraging more women to see it as a viable and rewarding career path. Working in partnership with charity The Big Trust and supported by the Save Construction Initiative, the programme focuses on early intervention and long-term cultural change.

Supported by Frank Rogers Building Contractors, the aim is to reach young people before GCSE options are chosen, while career decisions are still forming. The programme highlights the full spectrum of roles available to women and girls across the industry – from site management and engineering to commercial leadership, digital innovation and sustainability.

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