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Downloaded from
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[Sue] Gender inequality
is a global issue which affects women

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throughout their lives.

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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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And sport can be a powerful tool
to drive positive change in this area.

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Throughout history,
women have been denied the opportunity

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to fully enjoy sport like men.

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And having been held back
for so long, it has been hard

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for women's sport to grow.

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[motivational music]

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[inaudible boxing commentator]

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[commentator]
And Chloe Kelly scores for England!

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[commentator] Harrison to Scarratt,
what a start for the Red Roses!

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[Sue] But sport has a unique capacity
to challenge culture and women's sport

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and the profile of female athletes,
can have a huge impact

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on how women are viewed in society.

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[slow piano music]

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[soft water sounds]

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[Sue]
I've spent my working life wondering

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if we'll ever achieve
gender equality in sport.

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["On/Off" by Fjodor playing]

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[laughter]

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[Sue] Gender inequality
is a huge global issue.

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And equality in sport is
a powerful tool that could help us

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change things across society.

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[motivational epic music playing]

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I'm Sue Anstiss
and I've dedicated much of my career

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to fighting for equality
in women's sport.

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[indistinct chatter]

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[Sue] For over 100 years,
women's sports has been seen

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as the poor relation to men's.

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Receiving little funding,
resources or media coverage.

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[Sue] If we look back to the beginning
of the modern Olympic Games,

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Pierre de Coubertin, he felt
it was impractical, uninteresting,

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unaesthetic, and incorrect for women
to take part in any sports.

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So right from the start there,

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no woman have taken part
in the Olympic Games.

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It won't be until 2024

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that we'll finally see equality in
terms of women competing

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in the same number of events.
So I do feel quite depressed sometimes

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with where we are.
But we've moved on massively,

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and we've moved on massively
even in the last five years.

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So I've seen a shift, I've worked in
women's sport for 30 years

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and I really have seen a shift.

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But I've seen the biggest fight
in the last two, three years or so?

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Women's sport is really
taking off, and the time is now.

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So I'm really kind of
excited for where you are

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at the beginnings of your careers.

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[emotional music]

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[Sue] I went to Loughborough University
and studied sports.

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I had an amazing experience there,

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but didn't really clock the gender
inequality that was going on at the time.

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[background laughter]

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Like many in my generation,
it was just something that I accepted.

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Not really thinking
the situation could be changed.

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During the pandemic,
I had time to finally research

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and write a book about women's sport.

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With women's sport being on
the cusp of momentous change,

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and finally starting to gain
mainstream attention,

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there seemed to be no better way to tell
the story of these changes

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and why it matters more
broadly for all women.

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I am lucky to know and work with
so many incredible women in sport,

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who have opened my eyes
to a subject I thought I knew so well.

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-Is that one running?
-[Sue coughs]

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Take two.
It's very exciting to do that.

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-Breathe.
-[laughing]

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Needs one of those, just in case.
Habit.

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My name is Denise Lewis

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I'm a former Olympic Champion
in the women's heptathlon.

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My name's Laura Woods.
I presented Breakfast Show and Talk Sport,

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I work in football as well
and then I do boxing too.

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My name is Kelly Smith, I used to play
football for Arsenal in England.

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I'm Tanni Grey-Thompson,
I'm a paralympian.

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I used to do wheelchair racing,
and I'm now a parliamentarian.

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I'm Pamela Cookey,
former England Netball Captain.

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My name is Clare Balding.

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I've been a broadcaster in sports
for 30 years, I would guess?

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And an author of seven books.

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-It's quite nice to be interviewed by you.
-Aw.

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It's quite cool.

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I'm very privileged to be taking to you.

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I'm privileged,
you're the one with the MBE.

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I've barely got any GCSEs.

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[both laugh]

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[Tanni] Nelson Mandela said that sport
has the power to change the world.

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But the challenges for girls,
haven't really changed

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as long as I've been involved.
In terms of how we treat sporty girls,

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we still value sporty boys
more than sporty girls.

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Girls have less opportunities to compete.

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There's less opportunities for
media coverage and for sponsorship.

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Although I think we are at a time
when there are lots of positives,

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there's still a lot of challenges
for true equality.

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We are not where
I think I'd hoped we'd be

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by this point in my life.

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[Sue] During research for my book,
I came across the work of Dr. Ali Bowes.

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An academic who has extensively
researched the world of women's sport.

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I was keen to meet her in person
as she truly understands

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and is able to articulate
the challenges that women's sport faces.

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Initially, I probably wasn't that aware of
a gender imbalance in sport.

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So I loved doing sport at school,

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and just took sport, really,
for what it was at that time.

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It was during my time at university where
we started to look at

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social issues in sport,

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and in my own involvement in sport
at university that I started to notice

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women's sport was at such a kind of
disadvantage to men's sport.

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Which then prompted me
to do research in it,

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so did my PhD at
Loughborough University.

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And that very much centered on
League Women's Sport and inequality

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and starting to investigate
some of those issues, I guess.

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[Sue] In terms of that
bigger picture then, can you give us

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a little of the history as to how we got
to find that gender imbalance?

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Sport, in its very first instance,

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was something that was really
dominated by men.

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If we are going back
to the 19th century,

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we've got industrialization,
and we've got men working in factories

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and sport became a way
for factory earners to make sure

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that the men were fit and healthy,
so they had factory teams.

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Sport has always been
kind of developed for men.

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There's a hangover effect to this day
so people that have dominated sport,

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that are in charge of sport,
that made the rules of sport,

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have always been men,

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and that's been really hard to
kind of break down and challenge, I think.

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As I researched my book,
I discovered there were two main reasons

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that people have struggled with
the concept of women playing sport.

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The first, was the female frailty myth.

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I think the female frailty myth
has a really big piece of the puzzle

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of understanding
gender imbalance of sport.

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We had these pockets of ideas
from doctors, from scientists of that era,

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that fundamentally rendered it impossible
for women to take part in sport.

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[Sue] We were these vessels
that needed to have children,

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it was all about having children,
that was our purpose on this earth.

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Lots of these ideas around
issues with women's body

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that centered on reproductive ability...

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There was genuine belief
that if we ran and we jumped,

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our uteruses would fall out.

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All these concerns that women
were gonna pass out or collapse

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or bleed, or whatever that might be...

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It was okay for women to work
in the fields and the factories,

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and all that hard work.
but it wasn't okay for them to play sport.

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[Clare] So women's football is
starting to grow through the late 1800s

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and into the early 1900s.

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And it's really building up,

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particularly leading up to and during
the First World War and directly after.

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Where all the munition's factories
had women's football teams

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because the men had all gone off to war.

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The women are treated
completely differently

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because suddenly they are given
equal value, because they are necessary.

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And Dick, Kerr Ladies is the example,
the best of the women's teams

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that grew out of that era.

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[Sue] And the Dick, Kerr Ladies played
in front of these massive, massive crowds.

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They had 53,000 people
who came to watch them play

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at Goodison Park.

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And there were 14,000 people
waiting outside who couldn't get in.

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I know that many people
don't realize how women's football

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was banned in England for 50 years.

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I was surprised at just
how much interest there was in this

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when I mentioned it in a podcast.

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When something's banned and
your grandmother wasn't allowed to play

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and your mother
wasn't rewarded for playing,

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it takes a while for that
to work on through

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where the best athletes
are choosing football.

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If you're not allowed
to play at Wembley at all,

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or any stadium, and most clubs
don't have a women's team,

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why would you choose football?

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[Sue] Clearly social media
has had a huge role to play

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in spreading the word
about women's sport.

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But it's actually mainstream media,
so the print media and broadcast media,

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where we are really
gonna reach a huge audience

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and begin to bring people over
to see how amazing women's sport can be.

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It is always fantastic
to have the opportunity

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to talk on the media about women's sport.

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It's a passion for me,

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but to come and talk to someone like
Stacey on her show means so much to me.

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Because I know all that
she's done for women's sport,

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and all that she's
still doing now to drive change.

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Action!

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[uplifting music playing]

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-Hi. Too aggressive?
-[laughter from crew]

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My name's Stacey Copeland and
I've represented my country in two sports.

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Football and boxing.

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Started boxings a child, so at age 6, 7.

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My influences were fairly obvious.
My dad was a boxer,

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my grandad ran our boxing gym.

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To be honest, I wasn't aware
that I was a young woman,

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I was just a kid
in the boxing gym with all my mates.

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And I did everything that
all my little lad mates did.

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I lived and breathed the sport, really,
I loved it and everything about it

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from the first time going to the gym.
The sound of the skipping ropes,

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the gloves hitting the bag,

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the smell, which is horrible.
[laughing]

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But I just loved it and
I got to the age of 11,

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when you can usually
start using skill bouts,

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and that's when my grandad said, you know,
"You can't box".

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Sport is undoubtedly,
I know I'm biased, we both are,

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but definitely one of the
most powerful things on the planet.

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How does that manifest in society
in the way we perceive men and women,

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masculinity and femininity?

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[Sue] Because sport is something
that is so much a part of our culture,

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not just in Britain but across the world.

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It is something that impacts us
in so many ways.

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Sport, you know, reflects and magnifies
what's happening in society

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but I think also enables us to have
some of those conversations

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we wouldn't otherwise have within society.

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[Stacey] When I found out
that it was illegal

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for girls and women to compete,
I remember feeling mostly confused.

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The thought that that thing
I loved could be illegal was just bizarre.

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It wasn't really until then that I became
acutely aware that being a girl

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was gonna be a major problem.

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The second issue I found was the role
femininity plays in women's sport.

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In terms of gender stereotypes,
I don't think there is any reason why

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male or female genitalia or body parts
makes you better or worse

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at any sport in the world.

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It's the masculine and feminine attributes
that tend to cause a problem.

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When you get women
doing sports as I did, like boxing,

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that challenge society's definition
of what's feminine...

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I think there's a number of things which
people find unsettling about women boxing.

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For the majority, it's about femininity.

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It challenges femininity in such
an obvious, brutal, visceral way.

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I think people really struggle with it.

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For many female athletes,
it's been said there's a balance in that

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between being seen as a feminine woman
and being seen as a legitimate athlete.

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Because it doesn't make sense
to be able to be both.

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Lots of researchers have kind of talked
about this disconnect, really,

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and framed it as
the female athlete paradox.

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And very much is
around how female athletes

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balance those competing demands

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of society expecting them to be
a certain type of woman.

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and society expecting
sport to look a certain way.

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[Laura] The perception of women
is that we don't fight,

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and that we shouldn't be involved
in combat sports

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because it's not ladylike
and it's not feminine.

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But they are amazing athletes,
and if you can appreciate that,

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that will start to change
people's perception of things.

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[motivational music]

235
00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:34,880
We're getting ready for the World Cup,

236
00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,040
we really wanna go out there
and do our best at trying to win it.

237
00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,640
We're going to New Zealand,
the Reigning Champs,

238
00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,200
I don't think you'll see
anyone holding back.

239
00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,040
[motivational electronic music]

240
00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:49,560
[Sue] I think because it is obviously
the selection for the World Cup,

241
00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:51,760
you just can feel the energy.

242
00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,360
[women shouting]

243
00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,320
I wanted to include rugby
in the documentary.

244
00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:06,440
I think for me, of all the team sports,
women's team sports that are there,

245
00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:08,600
it is probably the one
that most challenges

246
00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:11,280
what society feels
is traditionally feminine.

247
00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,760
The power and strength and you know,
the aggression around rugby.

248
00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,320
So for me, it almost is the sport that

249
00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,120
can probably have
the most impact in that space too.

250
00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:22,840
And I'm a massive
rugby fan as well, so that helps.

251
00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:28,920
I started playing when I was 6 years old.

252
00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,360
My mom messaged the local rugby club
and said, "Hey, can we bring down

253
00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:36,080
my two children?" And he went, "Yeah,
of course, we always need more boys."

254
00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:37,760
And mom was like,
"No, they're two girls",

255
00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,040
and he was like, "oh",
and really taken back by it.

256
00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:43,000
Luckily my sister was in the same
age group, we were the only two girls

257
00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:46,080
in the mini section, and that was
the story growing up.

258
00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:48,520
There were never many other girls,
it was always a novelty.

259
00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:50,680
"Look, there's a team!
Oh, they've got girls on their team."

260
00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:54,200
[Captain] How we start is so important
and that's [unintelligible]

261
00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:57,440
[Poppy] When I go back to clubs and speak
about it, that's not an issue anymore,

262
00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:00,000
there's so many there,
these clubs are thriving.

263
00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:02,800
There's three teams, there's under 13's,
under 15's, under 18's,

264
00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:04,680
and there's just so many more playing.

265
00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,480
And do you think attitudes are changing
in society towards women's rugby as well?

266
00:14:08,560 --> 00:14:11,520
I do, yeah, 100 percent do,
just not very quickly.

267
00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:14,680
We still get, like 10 years ago,
if you interviewed the girls,

268
00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:17,560
and still get the comments that we do
right now, it's exactly the same.

269
00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:20,680
-[Sue] On social media?
-[Poppy] Yeah, it's just boring, so boring

270
00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:22,960
like, "Oh, didn't know women played".

271
00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:26,440
Yeah, okay, cool, like,
where have you been living, sort of thing?

272
00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:29,400
Everything that goes with just
being a woman that plays rugby.

273
00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,840
Sometimes it can get a bit draining,
and just constantly get you down.

274
00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:37,320
You know, the stigmas, the nasty
perception we have of women

275
00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:39,720
just trying to play sports
and enjoy themselves.

276
00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,000
Why do you think that-- I spend my life
thinking why that is, why do you think,

277
00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:47,120
where do you think that stems from, that
negativity around women playing sports?

278
00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,960
[Poppy] I do think it is learnt,
the sayings, the expressions,

279
00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:51,760
"Oh, you play rugby,
you must be a lesbian",

280
00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,120
"Oh, you play rugby, that's really manly".

281
00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:58,360
People don't challenge it, people just
stick with the majority, they laugh along.

282
00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:01,400
You're essentially bullying someone,
you're degrading them

283
00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:03,760
to achieve what at the end of the day?

284
00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:05,920
[all] Red Roses!

285
00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,880
[Sue] 1950s, so the
All American Girls baseball leagues,

286
00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:20,000
So again, Second World War,
men have gone off to war.

287
00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,200
Wrigley, the chewing gum magnet,
didn't want to lose out

288
00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:25,000
on all that audience and the sponsors
he'd got for baseball,

289
00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:26,960
so he created a female league.

290
00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:29,720
They were almost the first professional
female athletes of their time.

291
00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:32,160
Women came from
all over the country to trial

292
00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,040
but they were judged on how they looked.

293
00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:37,160
Helena Rubinstein came in
and would give them make up lessons,

294
00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:38,760
they had to have their hair a certain way,

295
00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:41,800
they weren't allowed to wear
shorts or trousers at any point.

296
00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:43,600
They had to play in skirts!

297
00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:47,120
So they're sliding into the bases
but they had to do it in skirts.

298
00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:50,360
They only felt people would be
attracted to women playing sport

299
00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:51,800
if it was seen as really feminine.

300
00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:56,960
Our understanding of what we think
masculine and feminine means,

301
00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:02,280
is so limited and so damaging
to men and to women.

302
00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,560
We just need a broader mind about this.

303
00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:09,520
Women can be strong
and ambitious and competitive.

304
00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:14,000
Men can be kind
and compassionate and vulnerable.

305
00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,600
All of these things are allowable,

306
00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:22,000
and to not let them be, is, I think,
the cause of a lot of issues.

307
00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,280
I think a challenge for women sport
going forward, is that--

308
00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:28,000
it's still a lot based on how you look.

309
00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:30,520
You know the way you look
has played a big part

310
00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:34,960
in your sponsorship opportunities
and your marketing opportunities.

311
00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,040
The question is, will that ever change?

312
00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:39,200
[Tanni] You know, women
get judged differently,

313
00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:41,400
you're meant to not
just be a brilliant sportsperson,

314
00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,000
but you're meant to look
beautiful and not sweaty

315
00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:44,960
and have your hair
and makeup done as well.

316
00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:47,360
Where men don't get judged
in the same way,

317
00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:51,040
and I think that's one of the things
that sometimes makes it really hard

318
00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:55,200
for girls to come in because they still
are judged in a different way.

319
00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:59,640
[Denise] Femininity, that whole
conversation around femininity and sport,

320
00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:01,120
I think it's still an issue.

321
00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:05,640
If you don't feel that
your beauty is being valued

322
00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,839
when you've got fantastic muscles
and you're strong,

323
00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:10,640
it affects your decision making.

324
00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:13,160
Competitive girls are talked
about in a different way,

325
00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:15,359
as if it's kind of
not as good, or less than

326
00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:19,400
or you're a bit of an oddity because
you want to be competitive in sports.

327
00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:24,400
It's hard to untie those ideas
of women being frail,

328
00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:29,160
us expecting women to be feminine,
and then accepting women

329
00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:31,280
as kind of strong, aggressive sportswomen.

330
00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:33,640
It's really hard to pull
those ideas apart.

331
00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,280
Women that are extremely strong,
there is still a bit of a stereotype

332
00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:42,560
for the girls that don't have that sort of
svelte like body shape.

333
00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:45,720
And that, we still need to work on,
because we don't see it,

334
00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:48,440
we don't see those
type of women on front covers,

335
00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:50,640
we don't see them being championed

336
00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:54,640
as fantastically strong, beautiful women

337
00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:57,320
that exude power.

338
00:17:58,000 --> 00:17:59,520
We still have a problem with that.

339
00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,200
[Sue] It's really important
that women can be all things

340
00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:06,400
and that women don't have to fit
that mold of what is feminine and tiny

341
00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:09,360
and all the stuff that social media
and the media might tell you.

342
00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:11,400
Women can be all kinds of things.

343
00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:14,880
And actually sport, when we see
and celebrate these amazing women in sport

344
00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:17,680
what does that tell us about else
we can be in our lives?

345
00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:23,600
It really excites me to see more
female athletes being shown,

346
00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:27,960
because usually it was just the big
and strong male athletes that you'd see

347
00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:31,120
and everyone would think
that they're the best of the best.

348
00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:34,960
It's just nice to see women doing sport

349
00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:38,160
where usually
they aren't shown off as much.

350
00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:40,240
Never showed off as much as the men,

351
00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:42,000
where you always see
what the men are doing,

352
00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:44,760
and you always know what they're doing.
But now,

353
00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:47,880
you see more of how the women
are performing and how well they're doing.

354
00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,360
Having more coverage of it,
and making it easier to watch,

355
00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:53,120
so we can just go downstairs
and find the Netball to watch,

356
00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,320
it makes me really happy,
because it used to be

357
00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,720
you had to find it online
and then put it on the TV somehow,

358
00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:02,000
but now it's really easy to watch
and it's exciting

359
00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,800
to have more coverage
of women's sport.

360
00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,840
So more people are watching it,
and more people are understanding

361
00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,040
why we enjoy it so much.

362
00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:17,440
[fantastical music]

363
00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:24,080
[Ali] The origin of Netball actually
gives a really good indication

364
00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:26,520
as to the kind of history
of men and women's sports.

365
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,280
Netball was derived from basketball

366
00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:35,080
but pulled in all those ideas about
the acceptability of women's bodies.

367
00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:38,760
We had this sport of basketball,
competitive, in your face contact,

368
00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:40,800
so netball, we removed the contact.

369
00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:44,920
Put women in little zones
so that they couldn't move.

370
00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,920
All these rules to make the sport
much less vigorous.

371
00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,880
And therefore acceptable
for women to take part in.

372
00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:01,520
I think the history of netball
then is really interesting

373
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:04,280
in starting to understand
why women do certain sports

374
00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:06,200
and why we have certain expectations.

375
00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:08,960
[crowd cheering]

376
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:11,200
[Pamela] Netball has changed
massively throughout my career.

377
00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:13,600
Back then, it was just
what you did in school

378
00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,600
and people have that preconception
of school girl netball, you know,

379
00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,960
the slow stop, start, pivot,
that kind of thing.

380
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:22,760
But so different to what we see now on TV,

381
00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:27,240
and I think we can now see
these amazing athletes on court

382
00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:29,760
doing such wonderful things.

383
00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,760
I think that's the massive change
that I've seen in netball.

384
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,480
It's not just a sport in school,

385
00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:37,720
it's a sport that you can take
throughout your life.

386
00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:40,480
[Clare] Hello! You all right?

387
00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,040
-[Sue] Yeah!
-[Clare] Good, good.

388
00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:43,480
[Clare] Good to see you too, mate.

389
00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:45,280
-[Woman] Hello!
-[Clare] Hello, hello!

390
00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:46,480
How are you?

391
00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:50,080
[Clare] I mean our connection through
netball and team sport has been years.

392
00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,360
-[Sue] Yeah, yeah.
-[Clare] Years and years, hasn't it?

393
00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:55,160
Something that connected us
in the beginning keeps us together now.

394
00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:57,840
That's pretty scary isn't it?
How many years, 40 years on.

395
00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:01,280
Goal keeper, goal defence,
we played together, didn't we?

396
00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:02,320
All those years ago.

397
00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:04,360
-[Clare] And played against each other...
-[Sue] Yeah.

398
00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:07,040
...so a little bit of together
and then a little bit of competition.

399
00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:09,520
[Sue] Yeah, you were always
quite competitive, were you?

400
00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:11,960
-[Clare] That lives on!
-No, that hasn't changed!

401
00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:16,440
[Clare] And then some high knees,
hop them right up.

402
00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:20,520
[Clare] Over the years, we've watched
our girls come through and play netball,

403
00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:24,560
and I know that Daisy's coach for the club
but she's also done the coaching

404
00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,120
and she's here tonight coaching as well.

405
00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:28,840
Hopefully, we've giving them something
for life in the way that we have had.

406
00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:30,000
[Clare] I think it will always be
with them.

407
00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:33,680
I think they've all played at uni and post
school and things like that.

408
00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:36,800
There will always be a sport wherever
they go they can get involved with,

409
00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:38,600
having played netball over the years.

410
00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:40,640
-Yay, go us!
-Yeah!

411
00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:44,200
So, blue shoe that way,
yellow shoe that way.

412
00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:45,400
[whistle blow]

413
00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:50,840
[shouting and laughter]

414
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:55,480
[Sue] It's easy to forget the importance
of sport for women throughout their lives.

415
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:57,480
[Player] Can I get a high five?

416
00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:00,200
I've personally enjoyed
the positive impact

417
00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:02,400
of walking netball sessions for women.

418
00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:05,240
It's more than just getting out
and having fun with friends each week,

419
00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:07,480
although that is important.

420
00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:09,200
Foul play going on over here!

421
00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:12,600
It's all the mental and physical
health benefits women get

422
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:14,360
from being physically active.

423
00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:18,280
This can have a huge impact on
a woman's health as she ages.

424
00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:19,960
[Clare] One nill for blue!

425
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:22,960
I'm so pleased that my daughters
still love sport,

426
00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:26,120
but sadly that's not the case
for many girls and young women.

427
00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:31,120
Research in 2022 shows that
more than a million British teenage girls

428
00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:33,440
who once considered themselves as sporty,

429
00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,880
disengage from sport
after primary school.

430
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:42,000
Couple of girls from our team,
they don't wanna play anymore.

431
00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:47,360
A lot of them didn't feel comfortable
wearing the short dress when playing.

432
00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:51,120
It doesn't really help you play
because it would be easier

433
00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,200
if you played in trousers or shorts.

434
00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:56,680
It's easier to run in,
it's easier to do jumps.

435
00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:58,880
With the dresses,
you're always pulling it down

436
00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,520
to make sure everything is covered
or you're self conscious

437
00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:03,720
about wearing a dress.

438
00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:05,680
Women wearing dresses to play sport,

439
00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:09,480
it makes absolutely no sense
to put women in dresses and say, okay--

440
00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:12,440
The logic there is because it helps
performance, because it obviously doesn't.

441
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:15,560
Some women want to wear dresses
and they're very comfortable like that,

442
00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:19,200
as the outfit that you wear
to play sport, and that's fine I guess,

443
00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:23,120
but I think to have, like,
uniform restrictions

444
00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:25,560
or to make it so that women
have to wear dresses,

445
00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:27,040
that's really problematic.

446
00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:33,040
I think especially if someone might
feel a different way about their body

447
00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:35,800
and they don't want to wear
a small tight dress,

448
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:39,960
then I feel angry for them
if they don't wanna wear it.

449
00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,880
Because it's just harder to, I don't know,

450
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,200
feel confident in yourself while
you're playing if you're wearing

451
00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:50,720
something that's tiny and not something
you usually wear anywhere else.

452
00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:53,800
I would love to know who sits
on the various committees

453
00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:58,200
that say, you know, girls have
to wear absolute bare minimum for clothing

454
00:23:58,280 --> 00:23:59,760
and boys can be covered up.

455
00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:02,320
[Sue] This is the Norwegian
beach handball team.

456
00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,560
This is last year, this is 2021.

457
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,320
It's practical for the guys
to wear baggy shorts and t-shirts

458
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:09,120
but for the girls to be in tiny bikinis?

459
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,520
The girls said they wanted to play
in shorts, not in these tiny bikinis,

460
00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,160
they actually had a limit of how tiny
it had to be at the side.

461
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:16,680
They didn't want to play in that,
so they played in shorts

462
00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:21,560
and they were fined 1,500 euros
by the International Federation

463
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:25,680
because they broke the law
and wore shorts rather than these bikinis.

464
00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:29,080
You can kind of see that impact
from being overly feminine

465
00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:33,000
that then becomes to
objectifying women too.

466
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,920
[upbeat music]

467
00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:42,680
[crowd cheering]

468
00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:46,160
[Clare] Good evening and welcome to
the BT Sport Action Woman Awards!

469
00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:50,480
It was back in 2013, this epic
celebration of women in sport began.

470
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,640
The appetite for women's sport
has never been greater.

471
00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:57,920
She may be the youngest of our contenders,
but my goodness she is mighty.

472
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,360
It's diving sensation
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix.

473
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:02,320
[crowd applauding]

474
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,120
I think sports and this year especially
have shown that...

475
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:07,960
...women are strong.

476
00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,480
and nothing can stop you
from doing what you want to do.

477
00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:13,040
Your age doesn't stop you,
gender doesn't stop you,

478
00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:14,640
sexuality doesn't stop you.

479
00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:18,240
And what's so great about
all of the women in this room,

480
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:19,960
all of the athletes in this room,

481
00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:22,680
is we don't let what society's saying--

482
00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:26,000
it doesn't limit us,
and won't limit us in the future.

483
00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,760
[crowd cheering and applauding]

484
00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:31,080
We need to move with the times.

485
00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:35,680
Sportswomen are asking for change,
they want to still do their sport

486
00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,720
but not have to be revealing
their bodies in ways

487
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:40,360
that don't make them feel comfortable.

488
00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:44,800
I think sport, it definitely mirrors
and magnifies what we see in society

489
00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:49,480
so I think it can playback what we see
and that may be around gender inequality,

490
00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:51,360
around racism and other issues.

491
00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:55,160
But it also has the opportunity to have
some of those conversations

492
00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:58,240
to be a lens and to drive change.
And then we talk about it,

493
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,080
we see it in sport, and then perhaps
we go and talk about it elsewhere.

494
00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:03,720
So people get really uncomfortable
talking about periods,

495
00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:07,200
but it's something that happens to half
of the population, half the world,

496
00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:09,600
and yet we still feel
uncomfortable talking about it.

497
00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:11,320
But if we can have
that conversation around.

498
00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:13,880
"Is it appropriate for women
to be playing in white shorts?"

499
00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,200
Can we have that conversation
in sport, and then come back

500
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:18,840
and have that conversation in society?

501
00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,600
I've read a third of girls say
their periods stopped them

502
00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:24,520
from getting active in schools this year.

503
00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:27,520
That's an increase of 10%
from previous years

504
00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:29,200
according to the EEAST board trust.

505
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:33,480
Dr. Emma Ross was the head of physiology
at The English Institute of Sport

506
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:37,360
and led research into
the challenges faced by elite sportswomen.

507
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:41,240
She now shares those learnings more widely
to help all women and girls

508
00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:43,320
through her company The Well HQ.

509
00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:46,320
-[Emma] Hello!
-[Sue] Hello! How are you?

510
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:47,480
[Sue] Very nice to see you!

511
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:51,040
[Emma] When I first started
going around to elite sports and saying,

512
00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:53,800
"I really want to bring up periods,
menstrual cycles,

513
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:56,360
as a really important
topic of conversation",

514
00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:01,120
one of the first things that the athletes
would say is, "Emma we have spent so long

515
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:04,240
pretending there isn't anything
female about us,

516
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:06,680
because we want equality here in sport,

517
00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,440
we want the same coaching as men,
we want the same facilities,

518
00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:11,520
we want the same media coverage,
we want the same pay

519
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:14,800
so to do that, we've had to sort of
shut off what is female about us."

520
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:17,480
And they were worried that it
would be seen as fragile,

521
00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:19,600
if there's lots of males
it could be embarrassing,

522
00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:22,520
and so we have had to break down
some of that and actually say,

523
00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:27,040
"No, this is your right, to belong
in sport and have sport designed for you."

524
00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:30,200
We're all adults and we're all women
who experience the same things,

525
00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:32,040
and this can be absolutely carnage.

526
00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:35,440
It's carnage for me in my workplace,
and I don't have to physically perform

527
00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:38,600
in front of people, and reach for a ball

528
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,440
that's gonna make me
straddle meters and meters.

529
00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:45,160
Girls and women don't tend to want to wear
white when they're on their period.

530
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:49,160
Mostly because of the fear of leaking,
not many girls will actually leak

531
00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:51,960
through their period products,
but the fear that it might happen

532
00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:55,560
particularly if you're on a sports field
in front of your family and friends.

533
00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:59,080
For me it's about removing
these things that cause anxiety.

534
00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:02,080
When you're trying to be an athlete
and you're trying to perform at your best

535
00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:05,040
whether you're trying to crack
a PB at parkrun

536
00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:07,600
or you're The Lionesses at Wembley,

537
00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:10,200
you want the headspace
to be able to focus on your sport.

538
00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,160
You don't want to be thinking,
"Am I leaking? Am I leaking?"

539
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:15,200
And so it just seems common sense to me

540
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:18,280
that you wouldn't put
girls and women in white kit.

541
00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:20,960
I mean, tradition is one thing,

542
00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:23,640
and there's a lot of conversation
in around Wimbledon whether

543
00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,640
about "Why do we still wear
whites to play?"

544
00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,760
Wimbledon's decision
to adjust its "all whites" rule

545
00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:33,520
and allow women to wear
colored undershorts from 2023

546
00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,000
is a step in the right direction.

547
00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:40,120
We can't be locked on tradition
in a time and a world

548
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:41,840
where everything is changing.

549
00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:45,080
We just got to be listening and be open.

550
00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:47,680
It's not about one answer being right
and one answer being wrong

551
00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:51,320
but it's about having open conversations
with the people who are wearing this kit

552
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:53,200
and saying, "Does it work for you?"

553
00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,240
So we're seeing those conversations

554
00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:57,480
and things that maybe
we're a little uncomfortable

555
00:28:57,560 --> 00:28:58,760
to have a conversation about.

556
00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:02,520
But sport, having it in the lens of sport
enables us to have those conversations

557
00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:04,560
and for me, that can be
really, really powerful.

558
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:07,320
[Sue] The gender pay gap is another
global concern

559
00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:10,840
where women's sport
has the potential to highlight the issue,

560
00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:13,800
start conversations
and drive important change.

561
00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:20,160
The U.S Women's National Soccer Team
fought a very public battle for equal pay.

562
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:23,480
Finally, in 2022 the Federation agreed

563
00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:26,240
to a landmark equal pay agreement.

564
00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:31,240
There's these tens of millions of dollars
in back pay owed to female players

565
00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:34,360
and means equal pay
for male and female soccer players

566
00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,680
at all tournaments
including the World Cup.

567
00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:39,640
It was a pleasure
to talk to Becca Roux

568
00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:42,720
who played a crucial role
in the equal pay settlement

569
00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:45,240
for The U.S National Women's Soccer Team.

570
00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:47,800
[Becca] I mean, even in 2017
when I first started negotiating,

571
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:51,200
equal pay was not on the table.
It just was not an option.

572
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:53,480
It was not something that
was fathomable to the men

573
00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:56,080
that we were negotiating with
on the other side.

574
00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:57,800
They did not think we deserved it.

575
00:29:57,880 --> 00:29:59,960
In the case of the American Women,

576
00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,640
the U.S Soccer Team
has overachieved for decades.

577
00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:07,280
There should never have been
any argument or fight.

578
00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:10,200
But you kind of
have to make it law really,

579
00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:11,640
for them, there's no argument,

580
00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:13,720
someone else
has has done the fight for you.

581
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:18,760
There's been lots of occasions
where I've thought, "This is it.

582
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:22,520
This is the moment. Everything
is gonna be different from now."

583
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:24,400
[chuckles] And then it isn't.

584
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:26,680
It just all goes back
to so called normal.

585
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:30,440
I would hope that big moments like

586
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:33,840
the U.S Women's Team
getting equal pay will impact things.

587
00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:37,480
But I know better
than to assume it will be inevitable.

588
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,000
[soft emotional music]

589
00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:43,800
I loved football as well,
and I was a very competitive kid.

590
00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:45,240
So I went into football,

591
00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:49,320
got my first ever England call up
which, at that point, as a youngster,

592
00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:50,680
when you get that first call up,

593
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:52,640
you don't know if that's
ever gonna happen again.

594
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,080
So at that point,
it is the best thing ever in your life.

595
00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:58,080
And you used to get a letter then,
with the three lions on,

596
00:30:58,160 --> 00:30:59,960
and it was just
the most exciting thing ever.

597
00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:03,880
And I worked in a factory at the time,
I was 16 and I went to my boss.

598
00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,120
And I said, "I need a week off".

599
00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:08,280
And I gave him this letter
and I just stood there.

600
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:10,840
He said, "You want me to give you
a week off to play

601
00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:12,440
for a woman's football team?"

602
00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,480
I said, "Yeah", and he made
all these jokes and comments

603
00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:18,560
and I said, "Look, it really means
a lot to me, can I just take it unpaid?"

604
00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,120
to which he agreed,
and I walked out of the office

605
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:25,440
feeling ashamed to begin,
silly for thinking it was a big deal.

606
00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:29,920
Not to play for England's football team,
but the England Women's football team.

607
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:31,880
And I learned there was a big difference.

608
00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:35,720
[Denise] Despite all of the progress
we've made in women's sport,

609
00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:36,880
at a league level,

610
00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:40,360
there are still too many barriers
that limit young girls

611
00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:42,040
actually choosing a life in sport,

612
00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:44,120
and being comfortable
wanting to pursue that

613
00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:46,240
and taking it into their later life.

614
00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:50,360
[Clare] It would be wrong
for any of us to think that this is solved

615
00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:51,920
because it's not.

616
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:56,160
How we go about
making change is really important

617
00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:58,120
and it has to change
at grassroots level.

618
00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:02,560
Research shows the main reason
women and girls don't take part in sport

619
00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:04,240
is fear of judgment.

620
00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:06,720
Sport England's This Girl Can campaign

621
00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:08,960
took these findings
and turned them on their head.

622
00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:12,520
Reshaping the way women
think about exercise.

623
00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:16,800
Celebrating and normalizing
women being sweaty and having fun.

624
00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:19,000
Access to sport and physical activity

625
00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:22,640
is important for all women
throughout the entirety of their lives.

626
00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,120
This isn't just about elite sport.

627
00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:26,960
We need more women to be involved

628
00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:29,880
in the highest levels
of management in sport.

629
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:33,080
As we know this helps
ensure decisions about access,

630
00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:36,600
opportunity, and funding
catered to the needs of everyone.

631
00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:39,200
Including women and girls.

632
00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:42,440
[Tanni] At its worse,
there are a lot of senior men

633
00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:45,840
making big decisions about women's sport
without actually talking to women.

634
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:48,000
It's so important
to have women in these roles

635
00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:49,480
because I think it changes
the conversation.

636
00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:52,480
We still have to go,
"Okay, what about women and girls?"

637
00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:55,800
But that is getting less,
and I can't wait for the day

638
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:59,200
when it's just accepted as
"we look after everybody"

639
00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,440
rather than having to kind of go
"what about the people we've forgotten?"

640
00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:04,520
-Which side do you want me on?
-Come and grab a chair.

641
00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:06,120
-Don't know, you happy there?
-Yeah.

642
00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,360
[Sue] Now this will be the 100th episode,

643
00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:11,480
and this is also the first time
I've ever come back to return

644
00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:13,400
and talk to a guest for a second time.

645
00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:17,240
And what a guest, Sally Munday,
CEO of U.K Sport.

646
00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:21,720
We've obviously seen enormous progress
for Women's Sport in the past decade,

647
00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:23,240
but there is still much more to do.

648
00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:25,600
What do you feel are
the real priority areas

649
00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:27,960
for accelerating
that change moving forward?

650
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:31,760
We gotta stop saying "Thank you"

651
00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:35,840
to people for being interested
in women's sport.

652
00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:38,120
We've got to stop saying "Thank you"

653
00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:41,440
to the media
and the broadcasters for showing it.

654
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:43,200
"Oh, thank you for the crumbs,

655
00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:45,120
thank you for giving us
a little bit of airtime".

656
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:46,960
Or "Thank you for giving us
a little bit of sponsorship".

657
00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:49,160
These are incredible athletes

658
00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:51,760
who are playing incredible sport.

659
00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:55,080
And who can't help
but get wrapped up in it all.

660
00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:58,320
And I think that we,
and I know I have a responsibility

661
00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:00,000
in the job that I have,

662
00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:03,840
to just stop apologizing,

663
00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:07,680
stop taking "Thank you"
for the tidbits that we get.

664
00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:12,000
And I genuinely believe that
we are on the cusp with women's sport.

665
00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:16,880
[applause]

666
00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:19,400
I think there still needs
to be more work done

667
00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,880
on coverage of women's sport.

668
00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:24,760
Seems to be a lot of
lazy journalism out there.

669
00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:26,440
That media plays a big part

670
00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:28,840
in the print media
where it is so focused on men.

671
00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:32,760
The print media has been controlled
by a certain type of white male

672
00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:35,159
for probably 200 years.

673
00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:37,760
And the sports that they think matter,

674
00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:40,360
men's football,
men's rugby union, men's cricket,

675
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:44,040
are promoted and constantly written about.

676
00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:47,400
Women's sport
really struggles to get that profile.

677
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:51,040
Traditionally, most newspapers
have overlooked women's sport,

678
00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:53,520
and we're yet to see
much change in that area.

679
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:56,480
The situation is really improving
in broadcast though,

680
00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:59,880
with women's sport receiving
a lot more coverage in recent years.

681
00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:02,840
And the quality
of that coverage is improving too.

682
00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:05,000
I don't know why there's an animosity

683
00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:07,560
to perhaps feeling
slightly threatened by it.

684
00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:10,240
I know that some people feel it's being
shoved down their throat.

685
00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:12,720
But I think there is
media attention for a reason,

686
00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:15,000
it is a product that actually can sell.

687
00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:19,360
It's an environment now where broadcasters
see it can bring a big audience.

688
00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:21,200
It's proven it can bring a big audience.

689
00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:25,200
Things look better with more cameras,
with better quality cameras,

690
00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:26,720
with really good studios.

691
00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:29,600
[fast upbeat music]

692
00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:31,400
[applause]

693
00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:35,000
Welcome back to
The BT Sport Action Woman Awards 2022!

694
00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:37,360
What a year it's been for our teams.

695
00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:41,000
Invest properly in women's sport
and thou shalt receive.

696
00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:43,880
[Sue] In recent years,
the England Red Roses

697
00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:48,320
have been one of the leading examples
of increased investments in women's teams

698
00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:51,000
resulting in on field success.

699
00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:56,240
We're here at Sandy Park
ready to watch England play the U.S.A.

700
00:35:56,320 --> 00:36:00,440
in the first of the test games
ahead of the World Cup.

701
00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:02,640
Whoo!

702
00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:05,480
[Sue] Very exciting.
Especially lots of players that don't know

703
00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:07,160
whether they're gonna be on that squad

704
00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:09,880
that's gonna be announced
in a couple of weeks.

705
00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:13,160
[fast decisive music]

706
00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:15,920
[Sue] I'm hoping it should be
a big scoring,

707
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,240
and I think there might be some questions
to be answered if it isn't.

708
00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:20,960
But we'll see how it goes!

709
00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:25,880
[crowd cheering]

710
00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:44,960
[fast decisive music buildup]

711
00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:53,120
[crowd cheering continues]

712
00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:08,760
[Sue] Pretty amazing,
an hour or so after the game,

713
00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,920
they're still all here
and taking photographs with their fans.

714
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:13,320
It's just incredible.

715
00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:20,920
[fast decisive music]

716
00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:25,800
[crowd cheering]

717
00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:49,520
[Poppy] We got the two wins,
got a good send out from the crowd.

718
00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:53,280
Just really excited to get going in
on the plane and into New Zealand.

719
00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:57,080
[Sue] It's amazing to think that tonight,
we've had almost 12,000 people

720
00:37:57,160 --> 00:37:59,440
in the crowd watching
an England women's game.

721
00:37:59,520 --> 00:38:01,920
And it's mid week, you know,
it's a busy week too.

722
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:04,560
But a few years ago,
we would've been really lucky

723
00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:06,680
just to have a couple thousand
come and support.

724
00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:07,920
The fact that these numbers are coming out

725
00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:11,040
for a tournament through the World Cup
is just extraordinary.

726
00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:13,280
And it must mean so much to the players.

727
00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:18,120
You just see the young fans
are so excited to meet the players.

728
00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:20,240
Get their autographs and selfies.

729
00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:21,680
It's just amazing to see.

730
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,080
-This is my favorite player.
-Who is?

731
00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:26,440
-You.
-Me?!

732
00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:27,400
Yeah.

733
00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:30,040
-[woman's laughter]
-[Man] Thank you so much.

734
00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:34,320
[Sue] To me, the Red Roses
are a fantastic example of the power

735
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:37,720
of women's sport
to inspire the next generation.

736
00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:40,960
And in the last few years,
I've really noticed their impact

737
00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:43,280
rippling throughout the rugby community

738
00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:44,720
and beyond.

739
00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:52,040
[Molly] I think it's really exciting
and it shows what can happen when

740
00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:54,040
women's sport is taken seriously,

741
00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:57,800
and given the respect
and resources that it deserves to have.

742
00:38:58,640 --> 00:39:00,600
[laughter]

743
00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:02,520
[Molly] We here have
a really lovely community

744
00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:04,840
of like, really... really feminist club.

745
00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:08,320
You come in and you feel
very like, supported and empowered.

746
00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:10,680
[coach] What do I want to see
you guys doing with each other?

747
00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:12,560
-[player] Communicate.
-Communicating.

748
00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:14,800
-[players] Energy.
-[coach] Supporting.

749
00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:18,280
Yeah, and some really good celebration
of each other's good work.

750
00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:20,920
[players cheering]

751
00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:24,600
We're a higher rank team,
than our boy's first team.

752
00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:27,240
We're in the league--
technically in the league above them.

753
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:29,120
And they come and watch us
and they support us,

754
00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:31,120
and that's really nice,
we're really appreciative.

755
00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:34,080
But it's really hard in a way,
because then you have a conversation

756
00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:36,320
with some of them after
who come and watch and it's like,

757
00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:38,280
"Why can no one kick a conversion?"

758
00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:41,000
That's been the big thing recently, it's
that we don't have a conversion kicker.

759
00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:42,760
The reason we don't have
a conversion kicker,

760
00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:45,760
or the reason that we don't do things
as slickly as they do,

761
00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:49,400
is because they picked rugby
for the first time at 18, or 19.

762
00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:51,120
We get people who join
in their final year of uni,

763
00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:53,920
they're 21, they picked up
a ball of rugby for the first time.

764
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:58,000
In terms of affording
women's sport that equal status,

765
00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:00,760
it's a men's sport,
and it's not resting on

766
00:40:00,840 --> 00:40:02,800
whether the men support
or the women support or not,

767
00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:05,720
but when they do,
it just adds that extra authority

768
00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:07,320
to the fact that this is an equal sport.

769
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:10,280
Especially because society
is so male orientated anyway,

770
00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:13,280
men's voices are afforded
a bit more power than women's voices.

771
00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:16,880
-How does that make you feel?
-[laughing] So unfair, I hate it so much.

772
00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:20,920
It's like, actually, it shouldn't need
that for the support to be there.

773
00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:23,240
But like, kind of,
if that's the way the system is

774
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:25,120
maybe we need to like--
that does need to happen.

775
00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:27,600
[Stacey] At the grassroots level,
I find that

776
00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:32,680
dads of daughters are really powerful
when it comes to wanting more.

777
00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:37,600
Quite often, they've gone through life
with no sport being a barrier to them,

778
00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:41,160
and then they've had this little girl
who they love more than anything,

779
00:40:41,240 --> 00:40:44,760
and suddenly come across
all this inequality and unfairness

780
00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:49,120
and go, "Oh, my God, this isn't right!",
because they've known how it should be.

781
00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:54,320
My grandad taught me on the boxing
gym trip to New York when I was 10,

782
00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:57,200
and we went into
a very, very well known gym,

783
00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:01,520
and I went on the bag and started training
and some guy came over and said you know,

784
00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:03,040
"We don't have woman in here",

785
00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:05,600
and my grandad said,
"well, that's my granddaughter

786
00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:07,640
and she'll be training
or we're all leaving".

787
00:41:07,720 --> 00:41:09,840
And of course they had fights
lined up and everything,

788
00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:12,960
and there was kind of a moment,
and I thought, "What's he doing?

789
00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:15,640
[laughter] He's gonna wreck
the whole trip", and this guy just said,

790
00:41:15,720 --> 00:41:18,680
"Well, all right, just make sure
she stays on that bag" or whatever.

791
00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:21,760
He, not only believed
in opportunities for me,

792
00:41:21,840 --> 00:41:25,400
but stood up to another man.

793
00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:27,680
In a very male dominated environment.

794
00:41:27,760 --> 00:41:32,360
I'm just someone that's a fan
of female sport, that's all it is.

795
00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:36,280
But I sit under the banner
of being a male ally.

796
00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:40,480
And I do think the tag "male ally"
puts people off.

797
00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:42,680
I think it does put people off.

798
00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:45,480
When a female comes watch to male's sport,

799
00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:47,840
whether it's football, rugby,
whatever it might be,

800
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:51,040
they're not waving a flag saying
"Hey, I'm a female ally!"

801
00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:53,080
They're not, they're
just a fan of the sport.

802
00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:56,040
But there seems to be this--
and I don't know what it is,

803
00:41:56,120 --> 00:41:58,600
maybe it's just this perception,
like you're stepping out,

804
00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:02,120
and look at you all self-righteous
and trying to do the right thing.

805
00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:03,240
[crowd cheering]

806
00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:06,040
It's not us all of a sudden,
just decided we all wanna do it,

807
00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:07,680
we're doing it because it's unignorable.

808
00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:13,160
The quality of it and the brilliance of it
is making more men step up and step out

809
00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:15,600
and showing their support.
And I do hope

810
00:42:15,680 --> 00:42:19,000
and I would encourage
any bloke to step out

811
00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:21,160
and show your love and support.

812
00:42:21,240 --> 00:42:26,080
I think because we live
in such a male dominated society,

813
00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:30,760
until there is equality,
you can never be too much of a male ally.

814
00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:37,280
[Stacey] I think 2022 is such
a massive year

815
00:42:37,360 --> 00:42:40,800
for sport in general in this country.
But certainly for women's sport.

816
00:42:40,880 --> 00:42:45,160
If we just go back
a very short time to 2020,

817
00:42:45,240 --> 00:42:48,120
I remember being interviewed
on television a few times,

818
00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:50,560
and every single time
being asked the question,

819
00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:53,680
"What's gonna happen to women's sport?
Is it gonna disappear?

820
00:42:53,760 --> 00:42:55,200
Is this the end?"

821
00:42:55,280 --> 00:42:59,200
And me thinking, "Are these people crazy?"
like, what-- [laughs]

822
00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:04,480
As if all of us who've dedicated
our whole lives to sport were gonna go,

823
00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:07,880
"Oh... well, that's it now."
[laughs]

824
00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:11,200
"Let's just all go home because
we haven't had a few games for a season!"

825
00:43:11,280 --> 00:43:12,160
Absolutely not.

826
00:43:12,240 --> 00:43:14,640
And I think the one thing
that made women sport

827
00:43:14,720 --> 00:43:18,600
perfectly adaptable for this is we've had
a gazillion barriers to overcome anyway.

828
00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:21,640
We've always had to overcome barriers
just to set foot in the ring,

829
00:43:21,720 --> 00:43:23,280
on the pitch, on the court, wherever.

830
00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:26,080
So we're actually
quite suited to adversity I think.

831
00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:28,040
And certainly in the case
of women's boxing,

832
00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:29,400
COVID helped us know no end,

833
00:43:29,480 --> 00:43:32,040
because the argument has always been
that we couldn't sell tickets,

834
00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:35,280
and tickets were no longer an issue,
because they just had to get shows on

835
00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:37,640
for the TV deals, and they ended up
putting women on them

836
00:43:37,720 --> 00:43:41,480
and they've become, you know,
mega in the sport of boxing now.

837
00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:45,520
[crowd cheering]

838
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:48,480
The case of Taylor and
Amanda Serrano fight,

839
00:43:48,560 --> 00:43:52,040
personally I feel that whenever there's
a massive moment in women's sport,

840
00:43:52,120 --> 00:43:54,160
we all kind of feel it.
It resonates.

841
00:43:54,240 --> 00:43:58,200
They've had the same struggle
that we've had as a female athlete.

842
00:43:58,280 --> 00:44:00,440
[commentator] How many years has
Amanda Serrano

843
00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:03,040
toiled for this opportunity?

844
00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:06,200
[Laura] I've been to some
amazing sporting events in my lifetime

845
00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:10,080
and honestly, the atmosphere
for Katie Taylor's walk on

846
00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:12,120
was the best I've ever experienced.

847
00:44:12,200 --> 00:44:15,560
-Katie Taylor!
-[crowd cheering]

848
00:44:15,640 --> 00:44:18,400
And it was something about
her walk on that was almost spiritual.

849
00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:22,200
She walked so slowly,
and she really took everything in.

850
00:44:22,280 --> 00:44:24,160
[epic emotional music]

851
00:44:24,240 --> 00:44:26,160
Two females headlining at
Madison Square Garden,

852
00:44:26,240 --> 00:44:27,600
it's never been done before.

853
00:44:27,680 --> 00:44:29,280
[commentator] Ten rounds for history!

854
00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:32,480
Boxing is my sport, it was my first love.

855
00:44:32,560 --> 00:44:34,800
I was really pleased for her
to have that opportunity.

856
00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:37,320
But then there's something
about New York for me.

857
00:44:37,400 --> 00:44:40,880
Having been there as a 10-year-old
told that I couldn't even go on the bag

858
00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:43,440
at a gym not very far away,

859
00:44:43,520 --> 00:44:45,720
all I could imagine was
that 10-year-old girl,

860
00:44:45,800 --> 00:44:50,200
stood outside Madison Square Garden
looking at these massive posters

861
00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:53,840
of these icons and heroes
of women's boxing.

862
00:44:53,920 --> 00:44:57,600
[nostalgic emotional music]

863
00:44:57,680 --> 00:45:00,040
A feeling as a little girl, was again

864
00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:03,520
one that I was to become familiar with
again, and again, and again

865
00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:06,360
through childhood,
my formative years, my adult years.

866
00:45:06,440 --> 00:45:10,920
It has a massive impact in how you feel
about yourself, how you perceive yourself.

867
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:13,840
Your place in the world,
your identity, your self worth.

868
00:45:13,920 --> 00:45:15,720
And it's much bigger than sport,

869
00:45:15,800 --> 00:45:19,120
and then the fact that
they put on one of the best fights,

870
00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:20,880
that was the important bit.

871
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:23,600
[Laura] It just didn't become
anything about females,

872
00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:25,720
it became about the most amazing fight,

873
00:45:25,800 --> 00:45:28,240
the amazing combat
within that fight as well.

874
00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:30,760
[commentator] Never count out
Katie Taylor!

875
00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:32,920
They more than delivered.

876
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:35,920
And it was a sense of relief,
as much as excitement,

877
00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:38,800
that they really seized that moment.

878
00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:41,920
-[presenter] And still, the undisputed...
-[crowd cheers]

879
00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:45,840
...Heavyweight Champion of the World,

880
00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:50,960
-Katie Taylor!
-[crowd cheering]

881
00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:55,040
[Laura] There was no gender relevance,
it was just two incredible sports people,

882
00:45:55,120 --> 00:45:56,840
it felt like a real game changer.

883
00:45:56,920 --> 00:45:59,880
[commentator] The greatest
female fighter of all time!

884
00:45:59,960 --> 00:46:02,280
[Stacey] When the power of sport
is used in the right way,

885
00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:04,840
what a difference that would've made,
and it didn't happen for me,

886
00:46:04,920 --> 00:46:06,280
you know what? That's okay.

887
00:46:06,360 --> 00:46:09,200
Because some of us have to do
the ground work to make sure

888
00:46:09,280 --> 00:46:10,680
that that happens for others.

889
00:46:10,760 --> 00:46:13,080
And that is now happening
for those little girls.

890
00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:17,040
And that's just
an amazing thing for our society.

891
00:46:17,680 --> 00:46:20,480
[soft piano music]

892
00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:25,000
[Sue] The changing situation
in the world because of COVID,

893
00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:28,960
led me to set up Fearless Women,
an agency whose sole aim

894
00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:31,120
is to drive change in women's sport.

895
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:35,840
One of my favorite activities
is talking to trail blazing women in sport

896
00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:38,080
for my podcast "The Game Changers".

897
00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:40,720
Hello, welcome! Thank you.

898
00:46:40,800 --> 00:46:45,320
Sarah, firstly,
huge congratulations on your selection!

899
00:46:45,400 --> 00:46:48,720
Thank you, it has been
quite challenging the last few years,

900
00:46:48,800 --> 00:46:50,800
with of COVID and injury
and things like that.

901
00:46:50,880 --> 00:46:53,640
So yeah, to finally know
you've made the squad

902
00:46:53,720 --> 00:46:56,680
and you're gonna be
on that plane to New Zealand,

903
00:46:56,760 --> 00:47:00,480
and compete at the pinnacle
of women's rugby, it's like,

904
00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:02,680
it's huge.
As I've got older,

905
00:47:02,760 --> 00:47:05,520
I've learned to recognize that
and realize that

906
00:47:05,600 --> 00:47:07,640
it's more than just myself,

907
00:47:07,720 --> 00:47:11,280
and more than just having
an internal motivation

908
00:47:11,360 --> 00:47:15,480
and especially
an external motivation of what I can do

909
00:47:15,560 --> 00:47:18,640
as an athlete,
as an international Red Rose.

910
00:47:18,720 --> 00:47:21,600
I think the investment
that we've seen in the Red Roses,

911
00:47:21,680 --> 00:47:23,680
it's allowed, for the first time,

912
00:47:23,760 --> 00:47:26,520
Red Roses to be
the best versions of themselves.

913
00:47:26,600 --> 00:47:30,120
Not having to wrestle
between going to work nine to five,

914
00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:32,000
and then fitting in training
at the back of it.

915
00:47:32,080 --> 00:47:36,200
The consequence of that, furthermore,
is it's put pressure on everyone else

916
00:47:36,280 --> 00:47:40,200
to be able to level up
and give the women exactly what they need.

917
00:47:40,280 --> 00:47:42,880
I feel like, and it shouldn't be this way,

918
00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:45,800
but it feels like
the women's game needs to go further.

919
00:47:45,880 --> 00:47:49,840
Or the proof needs to be further
in a case for investment,

920
00:47:49,920 --> 00:47:52,280
it's not just success,
because if it was success,

921
00:47:52,360 --> 00:47:54,720
they'd be getting
better funding than the men.

922
00:47:54,800 --> 00:47:57,840
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-It's just not as simple as that.

923
00:47:57,920 --> 00:47:59,880
[emotional uplifting music]

924
00:48:00,600 --> 00:48:03,000
[Clare] When I think about
the European championships,

925
00:48:03,080 --> 00:48:06,920
I just smile because it was so wonderful
to have the whole country

926
00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:11,800
locked into the progress of a team
growing and blossoming before our eyes.

927
00:48:12,640 --> 00:48:15,840
[Kelly] Playing in front of home crowds
and sold out stadiums,

928
00:48:15,920 --> 00:48:17,920
a lot of them have
probably never done that before.

929
00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:21,280
[commentator] The biggest ever
woman's Euro tournament gets underway!

930
00:48:21,360 --> 00:48:24,200
With the largest ever crowd
for the competition!

931
00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:27,440
[Sue] On the pitch, England got better
and better with each game.

932
00:48:27,520 --> 00:48:30,760
And arrived at the finals
as unbeaten favorites.

933
00:48:30,840 --> 00:48:33,760
What's more, with each game,
support for The Lionesses

934
00:48:33,840 --> 00:48:36,120
was growing across the nation
and in the media.

935
00:48:36,200 --> 00:48:37,800
Come on, England!

936
00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:40,440
[Clare] You still feel that tension
when it comes to a final,

937
00:48:40,520 --> 00:48:41,960
and you know anything could happen.

938
00:48:42,040 --> 00:48:45,640
We get to see England beat Germany,
and we beat bitter rivals...

939
00:48:45,720 --> 00:48:47,240
Whoo! Party!

940
00:48:47,320 --> 00:48:49,920
...and just looking around
and seeing lots of red and white

941
00:48:50,000 --> 00:48:51,400
and you couldn't see an empty seat.

942
00:48:51,480 --> 00:48:54,240
And I was pinching myself thinking
"Is this really happening in this country,

943
00:48:54,320 --> 00:48:57,400
a woman's game sold out like this?"

944
00:48:58,320 --> 00:49:01,640
[Sue] It did feel like this was
the final that Euro'22 deserved.

945
00:49:01,720 --> 00:49:04,400
[Kelly] And for me, England and Germany
had played the best,

946
00:49:04,480 --> 00:49:06,120
most attractive football all tournament.

947
00:49:06,200 --> 00:49:08,440
And the finish by Toone was outstanding,

948
00:49:08,520 --> 00:49:10,360
and you just think,
"Wow, I'm gonna pinch myself,

949
00:49:10,440 --> 00:49:12,560
we're gonna do this,
we're gonna win a gold medal finally."

950
00:49:12,640 --> 00:49:15,280
And then obviously they went down
the other end and scored.

951
00:49:16,800 --> 00:49:18,760
[crowd cheering]

952
00:49:18,840 --> 00:49:20,320
And then, extra time.

953
00:49:20,400 --> 00:49:23,080
And you're thinking, "we gotta push
for this, we gotta believe, keep going".

954
00:49:23,160 --> 00:49:26,000
Then obviously, Chloe Kelly popped up,
and with that little toe poke.

955
00:49:31,320 --> 00:49:33,680
[crowd cheering]

956
00:49:33,760 --> 00:49:36,040
[Kelly] We were crying
even before the final whistle,

957
00:49:36,120 --> 00:49:38,600
because we knew we'd won the game
and we were hugging each other,

958
00:49:38,680 --> 00:49:40,680
jumping up and down,
singing "Sweet Caroline"

959
00:49:40,760 --> 00:49:43,520
and we were just bawling,
we were like, "What are we doing?"

960
00:49:43,600 --> 00:49:48,240
We are about to see
England winning and lifting the trophy!

961
00:49:50,360 --> 00:49:51,880
[crowd cheering]

962
00:49:51,960 --> 00:49:54,000
Thought we'd never ever see it!

963
00:49:54,080 --> 00:49:56,120
And it's happening pretty good, yeah!

964
00:49:57,760 --> 00:50:00,440
Because football is
the biggest global sport,

965
00:50:00,520 --> 00:50:03,520
and England's win was watched
by such a huge audience,

966
00:50:03,600 --> 00:50:07,040
it really helped shift the public
perceptions about women's sport.

967
00:50:07,560 --> 00:50:09,680
[Stacey] Kids will now be growing up,

968
00:50:09,760 --> 00:50:13,240
and those early memories
that really grip them

969
00:50:13,320 --> 00:50:15,680
and make them excited about sport,

970
00:50:15,760 --> 00:50:18,720
will be of female athletes,
female teams,

971
00:50:18,800 --> 00:50:22,560
and there's a lot,
males and females, after that will say,

972
00:50:22,640 --> 00:50:24,640
"We" rather than "They",

973
00:50:24,720 --> 00:50:27,280
when they talk about
the women's football team.

974
00:50:27,360 --> 00:50:29,360
♪ Sabrina you're the one ♪

975
00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:31,880
♪ Football's coming home again ♪

976
00:50:31,960 --> 00:50:34,400
[Kelly] I think these Lionesses
from this summer,

977
00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:37,200
what they done
for the country, for the nation,

978
00:50:37,280 --> 00:50:40,320
for all those young girls
and boys out there,

979
00:50:40,400 --> 00:50:44,360
have really made women's sport,
not just football, acceptable.

980
00:50:44,440 --> 00:50:48,680
And that you can be strong,
fit, and muscular, and be out there,

981
00:50:48,760 --> 00:50:52,160
sweating and fighting
for your country to win a tournament.

982
00:50:52,240 --> 00:50:53,840
You know I didn't have that growing up

983
00:50:53,920 --> 00:50:56,360
and these young kids can look up
to these players and think,

984
00:50:56,440 --> 00:50:58,880
"Wow, this is something special,
I want to be like them."

985
00:51:00,520 --> 00:51:03,040
[emotional music]

986
00:51:03,120 --> 00:51:05,560
[Sue] That final at Wembley
was record breaking

987
00:51:05,640 --> 00:51:08,640
in terms of a final for the Euros,
but not only for the women's Euros,

988
00:51:08,720 --> 00:51:11,360
that was record breaking
for men's or women's Euros.

989
00:51:11,440 --> 00:51:14,120
So the proof points now at last
are there

990
00:51:14,200 --> 00:51:16,640
for those people that have always said
that there's no audience.

991
00:51:16,720 --> 00:51:21,800
The Lionesses were incredible
in terms of this moment in time.

992
00:51:21,880 --> 00:51:25,440
The moments in time shift the dialogue.

993
00:51:25,520 --> 00:51:28,240
There was a discussion two years ago,
women's sport was over,

994
00:51:28,320 --> 00:51:30,720
and now it's kind of taken over.

995
00:51:33,960 --> 00:51:38,320
The Distinguished Alumni
is a category of awards

996
00:51:38,400 --> 00:51:40,200
that we can give within
Loughborough University.

997
00:51:40,280 --> 00:51:43,360
And it's to recognize colleagues
that show now standing inspiration,

998
00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:46,560
merit achievement and sustained commitment
in a particular role.

999
00:51:46,640 --> 00:51:49,720
I am really delighted to honor
Sue Anstiss MBE

1000
00:51:49,800 --> 00:51:51,480
with our Distinguished Alumni Award

1001
00:51:51,560 --> 00:51:54,760
for outstanding contributions
to grassroot and women's sport.

1002
00:51:54,840 --> 00:51:57,960
It does mean so much
to be back here at Loughborough.

1003
00:51:58,040 --> 00:52:01,080
I was passionate about sport,
but it was very much the university

1004
00:52:01,160 --> 00:52:05,800
that ignited a passion and made me realize
the impact that I could have through sport

1005
00:52:05,880 --> 00:52:07,800
and the impact that sport can have.

1006
00:52:07,880 --> 00:52:10,280
[Laura] Women's sport, I think,
has a vast amount of potential.

1007
00:52:10,360 --> 00:52:11,840
It will only grow.

1008
00:52:11,920 --> 00:52:14,360
[Clare] Now there are so many more
women working in sport,

1009
00:52:14,440 --> 00:52:17,520
so many of them are paying it forward,
and that's really exciting.

1010
00:52:17,600 --> 00:52:19,680
[Sue] It's been almost 35 years
I now reflect,

1011
00:52:19,760 --> 00:52:21,040
since I last left Loughborough.

1012
00:52:21,120 --> 00:52:23,840
And across that time,
the transformation in women's sport

1013
00:52:23,920 --> 00:52:25,880
has been quite extraordinary.

1014
00:52:25,960 --> 00:52:28,840
Vast increases in terms
of profile and visibility,

1015
00:52:28,920 --> 00:52:32,320
crowds coming in to watch
what are now professional athletes

1016
00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:34,320
that weren't paid in the past.

1017
00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:38,680
It's such a good time to be involved
in women's sport right now.

1018
00:52:38,760 --> 00:52:41,160
It's getting better,
there's still a lot of work to be done

1019
00:52:41,240 --> 00:52:44,560
but the participation,
and particularly in women's football

1020
00:52:44,640 --> 00:52:47,800
and some of the team games
has risen tenfold.

1021
00:52:47,880 --> 00:52:49,320
And that makes me very happy.

1022
00:52:49,400 --> 00:52:52,200
[Tanni] I think a lot of young girls now
have role models to look up to

1023
00:52:52,280 --> 00:52:53,440
and think "I can do that".

1024
00:52:53,520 --> 00:52:55,640
[Clare] Girls in schools expect now

1025
00:52:55,720 --> 00:52:57,920
to be treated the way
the boys are treated,

1026
00:52:58,000 --> 00:53:00,960
to be taken seriously,
to be coached professionally,

1027
00:53:01,040 --> 00:53:03,120
to be given the opportunity.

1028
00:53:03,200 --> 00:53:05,240
Progress isn't an inevitable thing,

1029
00:53:05,320 --> 00:53:07,720
it's people coming together
that make it happen.

1030
00:53:07,800 --> 00:53:10,040
I hope that I can encourage
everyone to join me

1031
00:53:10,120 --> 00:53:13,360
as we keep on striving
for those changes

1032
00:53:13,440 --> 00:53:18,640
that will eventually result in equality
for all women and girls in sports.

1033
00:53:18,720 --> 00:53:20,400
So thank you so much.

1034
00:53:20,480 --> 00:53:21,840
[crowd applauds]

1035
00:53:23,240 --> 00:53:25,320
[Sally] I really hope
that in 10 years' time,

1036
00:53:25,400 --> 00:53:27,160
we're not even having these conversations.

1037
00:53:27,240 --> 00:53:31,080
We, I think all, have a responsibility,
whatever our role,

1038
00:53:31,160 --> 00:53:35,760
to keep talking about how diversity

1039
00:53:35,840 --> 00:53:39,440
leads to better decision making,
it leads to better outcomes.

1040
00:53:39,520 --> 00:53:43,840
We all have a responsibility
to challenge misogyny when it happens.

1041
00:53:43,920 --> 00:53:48,080
We're not yet over the hump,
we've still got a long way to go,

1042
00:53:48,160 --> 00:53:52,720
and that is encumbered on all of us
who have leadership roles

1043
00:53:52,800 --> 00:53:54,240
to make the change.

1044
00:53:54,320 --> 00:53:59,240
We need to continue driving on, right,
we can't let people sit down and say,

1045
00:53:59,320 --> 00:54:01,720
"Well, we've done that,
that's equality sorted".

1046
00:54:01,800 --> 00:54:03,080
You know? "That'll do".

1047
00:54:03,160 --> 00:54:06,480
The big thing is,
what do you want it to be?

1048
00:54:06,560 --> 00:54:09,120
What is women's professional sport?

1049
00:54:09,200 --> 00:54:13,240
And how does that differ
from men's professional sport?

1050
00:54:13,320 --> 00:54:15,960
And there are many ways
in which it should differ,

1051
00:54:16,040 --> 00:54:18,360
and they're all good ways.

1052
00:54:18,440 --> 00:54:21,480
One problem with talking about
the development of women's sport,

1053
00:54:21,560 --> 00:54:26,160
especially in a professional capacity,
is expecting it to mirror the men's game.

1054
00:54:26,240 --> 00:54:29,640
It's not going to,
and do we want it to anyway?

1055
00:54:29,720 --> 00:54:32,600
I'd love women's sport to emulate
some of what's happening in men's sport.

1056
00:54:32,680 --> 00:54:34,440
We want to try and emulate
all the really good things,

1057
00:54:34,520 --> 00:54:36,680
and try and stay away
from some of the negative things.

1058
00:54:36,760 --> 00:54:39,680
Women's sport can show us
how sport should be,

1059
00:54:39,760 --> 00:54:41,280
when you're looking at professionalism,

1060
00:54:41,360 --> 00:54:43,080
and you're looking at
the business structure,

1061
00:54:43,160 --> 00:54:45,520
what could it be?
How do you make those improvements?

1062
00:54:45,600 --> 00:54:48,840
And do it with the women's game
because you're not dealing with

1063
00:54:48,920 --> 00:54:50,920
a whole lot of baggage,
and people saying,

1064
00:54:51,000 --> 00:54:52,480
"It's always been like this",
because it hasn't.

1065
00:54:52,560 --> 00:54:55,280
It's never been like anything.
So start again.

1066
00:54:55,360 --> 00:54:58,000
The men's games have been professional
in this country 22 years,

1067
00:54:58,080 --> 00:55:00,160
we've made so many mistakes.

1068
00:55:00,240 --> 00:55:03,440
The women's game doesn't have
to go through the pain the men's game did.

1069
00:55:03,520 --> 00:55:06,720
It doesn't have to all be how it's been
for the last hundred years.

1070
00:55:06,800 --> 00:55:10,880
I think women's sport has an opportunity
to do things a little bit differently

1071
00:55:10,960 --> 00:55:16,120
and think outside the box in how, maybe
to have sustainable professional sport?

1072
00:55:16,200 --> 00:55:20,840
We can build women's sport differently
as a more inclusive positive place.

1073
00:55:20,920 --> 00:55:24,000
Creating a more sustainable model
for a league sport

1074
00:55:24,080 --> 00:55:27,840
that can also drive
powerful societal change in the world.

1075
00:55:27,920 --> 00:55:30,960
With investment in the women's game,
that's when you'll see a change.

1076
00:55:31,040 --> 00:55:33,080
And that's when
you'll see the skill level increase.

1077
00:55:33,160 --> 00:55:36,200
And it takes time,
and it takes interest and investment.

1078
00:55:36,280 --> 00:55:40,120
It's how you grow something,
you can't just overnight say, "It's here".

1079
00:55:40,200 --> 00:55:42,560
[Sue] I think it's really important
that we don't just measure

1080
00:55:42,640 --> 00:55:46,080
women's sport in terms of eyeballs
and numbers and the traditional metrics

1081
00:55:46,160 --> 00:55:50,000
that we've used for men's sport.
Women's sport has so much more to offer.

1082
00:55:50,080 --> 00:55:53,080
And one of the key elements
is that association

1083
00:55:53,160 --> 00:55:55,920
with all of the values
that come with women's sport.

1084
00:55:56,000 --> 00:56:01,400
Companies who understand
what women's sport can bring them,

1085
00:56:01,480 --> 00:56:05,520
are actively looking
at sponsoring clubs and individuals

1086
00:56:05,600 --> 00:56:09,440
and events for women.
They know it brings a different audience.

1087
00:56:09,520 --> 00:56:13,280
They know it brings a more positive
and warm and lovely atmosphere.

1088
00:56:13,360 --> 00:56:15,840
They know that they will get
more interaction with the players.

1089
00:56:15,920 --> 00:56:20,920
We need to have a game
that can foster the women of today

1090
00:56:21,000 --> 00:56:24,560
whilst nourishing and nurturing
and fostering the women of tomorrow.

1091
00:56:24,640 --> 00:56:26,600
If we can get that in place, then

1092
00:56:26,680 --> 00:56:29,920
I think it will be the men's game
looking at the women's game, saying,

1093
00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:31,000
"We should be doing this".

1094
00:56:31,080 --> 00:56:33,440
[Sue] So the plan is, 2025

1095
00:56:33,520 --> 00:56:37,560
to fill Twickenham for the women's
World Cup final.

1096
00:56:37,640 --> 00:56:41,560
It's an amazing notion,
to feel that by 2025,

1097
00:56:41,640 --> 00:56:42,880
that this place could be full.

1098
00:56:42,960 --> 00:56:45,280
Being able to sell out stadiums like this,

1099
00:56:45,360 --> 00:56:48,040
domestically and on
an international stage.

1100
00:56:48,120 --> 00:56:52,360
I think once we can get to that level,
then hopefully they get the investment

1101
00:56:52,440 --> 00:56:54,640
which has been long overdue.

1102
00:56:56,400 --> 00:57:00,480
["God Save The Queen" playing]

1103
00:57:02,120 --> 00:57:04,760
[crowd chattering]

1104
00:57:10,360 --> 00:57:12,360
[cheering]

1105
00:57:15,440 --> 00:57:18,480
[commentator] Standing on the shoulders
of giants that have come before them,

1106
00:57:18,560 --> 00:57:21,320
two teams of incredible women.

1107
00:57:21,400 --> 00:57:24,560
Harrison out to Scarratt
who's got Kildunne at wide...

1108
00:57:24,640 --> 00:57:28,240
And Ellie Kildunne scores
in the opening two minutes for England!

1109
00:57:28,320 --> 00:57:30,560
What a start for the Red Roses!

1110
00:57:31,960 --> 00:57:34,440
[cheering]

1111
00:57:35,200 --> 00:57:39,360
[commentator] Pressure building here,
and Marlie Packer powers over!

1112
00:57:39,440 --> 00:57:42,120
England looking dominant
in the battle!

1113
00:57:49,000 --> 00:57:51,960
[indistinct chatter]

1114
00:57:52,400 --> 00:57:54,800
I don't know, I'm a bit nervous.

1115
00:57:54,880 --> 00:57:58,000
[commentator] New Zealand is on the
short side, they've got numbers,

1116
00:57:58,080 --> 00:58:00,080
and Krystal Murray scores in the corner!

1117
00:58:00,160 --> 00:58:02,960
The Black Ferns coming back strong!

1118
00:58:03,040 --> 00:58:06,000
It might sit up with Stacey Fluhler,
just short,

1119
00:58:06,080 --> 00:58:08,160
but Leti-l'iga is there to finish it!

1120
00:58:08,240 --> 00:58:10,840
New Zealand go back in front!

1121
00:58:10,920 --> 00:58:13,000
[dramatic epic music]

1122
00:58:13,080 --> 00:58:14,760
[whistle blowing]

1123
00:58:14,840 --> 00:58:18,680
[commentator] From the depths of despair,
the World Cup winners again!

1124
00:58:18,760 --> 00:58:21,320
New Zealand are the champions!

1125
00:58:21,400 --> 00:58:23,720
[mild applause]

1126
00:58:44,600 --> 00:58:47,640
[Sue] It wasn't the fairy tale ending
we were all hoping for

1127
00:58:47,720 --> 00:58:49,040
for the Red Roses.

1128
00:58:49,120 --> 00:58:52,600
But, on reflection,
there were so many positives to take away.

1129
00:58:53,720 --> 00:58:56,160
Only a few years ago,
you wouldn't have believed

1130
00:58:56,240 --> 00:59:00,160
that hundreds of people would wake up
at 6 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday

1131
00:59:00,240 --> 00:59:02,960
to come together in a pub
to watch women's sport.

1132
00:59:03,040 --> 00:59:07,400
And then another two million were watching
at home over their breakfasts.

1133
00:59:07,480 --> 00:59:11,320
To see the pub full of such a wide range
of men, women, and children,

1134
00:59:11,400 --> 00:59:14,680
gives me great hope
for the future of women's sport.

1135
00:59:15,840 --> 00:59:18,280
[emotional epic music]

1136
00:59:19,440 --> 00:59:23,320
Throughout this incredible year,
I've seen the enormous potential

1137
00:59:23,400 --> 00:59:26,280
of women's sport to drive positive change.

1138
00:59:26,360 --> 00:59:29,440
I've also seen that women's sport
doesn't need to replicate

1139
00:59:29,520 --> 00:59:32,440
what men sport has done to be successful.

1140
00:59:32,920 --> 00:59:37,440
[Molly] If women get equality in sport,
I think that is a really powerful place

1141
00:59:37,520 --> 00:59:40,320
to then begin to have equality
more widely in society.

1142
00:59:40,400 --> 00:59:42,440
People care so deeply about sport,

1143
00:59:42,520 --> 00:59:45,520
that power to care about it
is the really important part about it,

1144
00:59:45,600 --> 00:59:47,320
and if people really care
about women's sport,

1145
00:59:47,400 --> 00:59:49,000
the same way they care about men's sport,

1146
00:59:49,080 --> 00:59:51,080
and give it the same respect
they give men's sport,

1147
00:59:51,160 --> 00:59:53,640
that respect would
hopefully translate a bit more widely.

1148
00:59:53,720 --> 00:59:56,120
If they're seeing them
as equals playfield,

1149
00:59:56,200 --> 00:59:57,760
they see them as whole human beings.

1150
00:59:57,840 --> 01:00:00,320
I'm filled with hope seeing
the next generation of young women

1151
01:00:00,400 --> 01:00:04,800
so determined to create
positive change in gender equality.

1152
01:00:04,880 --> 01:00:07,440
[Molly] I think when
you humanize people on the playing field,

1153
01:00:07,520 --> 01:00:09,440
you then humanize them in society as well.

1154
01:00:09,520 --> 01:00:11,440
And a really foundational
and important part

1155
01:00:11,520 --> 01:00:14,400
of fighting for equality is
recognizing that these people

1156
01:00:14,480 --> 01:00:16,480
are as deserving of quality and respect.

1157
01:00:16,560 --> 01:00:19,520
As you, because they are equal to you.

1158
01:00:28,120 --> 01:00:31,560
[Tanni] In the next five years,
we are going to see the biggest change

1159
01:00:31,640 --> 01:00:34,520
in women's sport,
that we've probably seen in the last 30.

1160
01:00:34,600 --> 01:00:36,320
And that's the thing that keeps me going,

1161
01:00:36,400 --> 01:00:38,640
that's the thing
that makes me really excited.

1162
01:00:38,720 --> 01:00:41,920
Because we can almost see
the light at the end of the tunnel.

1163
01:00:51,400 --> 01:00:56,160
["Take Me Away"
by Dj Brown Meister playing]

1164
01:01:19,080 --> 01:01:23,360
[laughter]

1165
01:01:26,280 --> 01:01:29,280
It's about what is an ally,
what is a man ally?

1166
01:01:29,360 --> 01:01:30,960
You're playing all over!

1167
01:01:31,040 --> 01:01:34,240
Jesus Christ, we just had to do this
outside Twickenham.

1168
01:01:34,320 --> 01:01:36,440
Why are we not in a nice quiet room?

1169
01:01:41,160 --> 01:01:44,960
[Sue coughing]

1170
01:01:45,040 --> 01:01:47,000
I was holding that!

1171
01:01:55,600 --> 01:01:58,320
The pain gives you parity
and it gives you power.

1172
01:01:58,400 --> 01:02:01,400
Ooh, that was quite good.
That's a good slogan!

1173
01:02:19,960 --> 01:02:24,600
I feel so much more posi-
[babbles]

1174
01:02:24,680 --> 01:02:27,920
-[Sue] Oh, my God.
-[Ali] Should we do it again?

1175
01:02:28,000 --> 01:02:30,880
Sue already had her hand in the till
three times.

1176
01:02:30,960 --> 01:02:34,040
-[woman] And you've got a TV show.
-[Sue laughs]

1177
01:02:36,400 --> 01:02:40,240
Ready to watch England, New Zealand--
No, that's complete... [bleep]

1178
01:02:40,320 --> 01:02:42,720
[laughter]