E75: Championship boxing & Paving the Way for inclusive sport with Stacey Copeland

What is a typical girls’ sport? Football? Boxing?

For Stacey Copeland, she’s paving the way in more ways than one to ensure all sports are inclusive for everyone.

Stacey’s father and grandfather were both boxers, so it seemed natural for her to take up the sport. In 2018, she made history when she became the first-ever British woman to win the Commonwealth title.

We chatted about how she felt winning, and also the sad realisation that there was no belt for the female boxers, yet there was for her male counterparts.

Instead of complaining, she decided to take proactive steps to ensure no other female boxer felt how she did and ensured a belt was available for other women Commonwealth athletes.

In addition to being a professional boxer, Stacey’s also represented England in football.

Represented England in football and boxing. Founder of Pave The Way. Presenter for BBC Radio Manchester. 

In 2018 she made history when she became the first-ever British woman to win the Commonwealth title.

 'The Dead Good Show' and 'The Sunday Sports Show' on BBC Radio

A founding trustee of the Women’s Sport Trust, and co-founder of the Women’s Sport Collective, in 2018 Sue received an MBE for her services to women’s sport. Sue is the author of a new book, ‘Game On: The Unstoppable Rise of Women’s Sport’, and hosts The Game Changers, an award-winning podcast that celebrates trailblazing women in sport.

Having run a sports PR agency for 26 years, Sue is now CEO of Fearless Women, a company driving positive change for women’s sport. She sits on the RFU’s Diversity and Inclusivity Advisory Group and is a Non-Executive Director at Leisure Focus, a charity running leisure facilities in Berkshire. 

Coming late to the sport of triathlon, Sue represented Great Britain as an Age Group triathlete, competing at World and European Championships in her forties. All things women's sport and equality including the history, commercial funding, sponsorship, role models, participation, governance etc / My new book GAME ON / The Game Changers podcast

Timestamp for talk:

• 1:34 - Sue talked about her family introduction to the sport
• 4:20 - Sue talks about how she slowly realized the disparity between male and female athlete treatment
• 6:00 - Sue talks about how society shapes attitudes towards male and female sports
• 8:47 - Sue talks about how we can change the mindset around women’s sport
• 10:31 - Sue talks about role models but no simple answer in making women’s sport more high profile
• 13:06 - Sue talks about her work and how women are taking part in more sport
• 14:26 - Sue talks about how to include more women in sport-related jobs

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