In this episode of our Women's Rugby World Cup series, there’s less Carter and more Moore. With Jim on holiday, Brian chats to rugby royalty Maggie Alphonsi MBE. Get the lowdown on preparing for a World Cup final and friendly rivalry about their respective international careers. 

 

 About Women in Sport

 

 Founded in 1984, Women in Sport is the longest-standing charity in its field with a proud history of securing change for women and girls. At its heart lies a deep understanding of the needs of women and girls in relation to sport and a passion to address the stubborn gender inequalities that still exist.

 

 Based on expert insight, Women in Sport challenges the system, offers solutions and inspires change. Not only do we believe in girls and women having access to fair and safe sport for the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits it offers, but we care about this because it can address health inequalities and help society to thrive.

 

 We continue to build strong partnerships with the corporate, sports and leisure sectors, grow our influence in parliament and develop powerful projects. By doing so we have led the field in creating change for teenage girls and challenged the system to better serve women in midlife.

 

 Follow us

 Website – Women in Sport – Home

 Instagram – @womeninsport_uk

 LinkedIn – @Women in Sport

 

 Acknowledgments

 

 Thank you to VeePod for the technical help and use of the studio to record this podcast.

 

 Music: Luna Cantina - A Huevo

In this episode of our Women's Rugby World Cup series, Brian and Jim sit down with Deborah Griffin, Co-Founder of the first Women's Rugby World Cup tournament in 1991 and current President of the Rugby Football Union

Founded in 1984, Women in Sport is the longest-standing charity in its field with a proud history of securing change for women and girls. At its heart lies a deep understanding of the needs of women and girls in relation to sport and a passion to address the stubborn gender inequalities that still exist.

Based on expert insight, Women in Sport challenges the system, offers solutions and inspires change. Not only do we believe in girls and women having access to fair and safe sport for the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits it offers, but we care about this because it can address health inequalities and help society to thrive.

We continue to build strong partnerships with the corporate, sports and leisure sectors, grow our influence in parliament and develop powerful projects. By doing so we have led the field in creating change for teenage girls and challenged the system to better serve women in midlife.

Instagram – @womeninsport_uk

LinkedIn – @Women in Sport

Thank you to VeePod for the technical help and use of the studio to record this podcast.

Music: Luna Cantina - A Huevo

In this episode of our Women's Rugby World Cup series, Brian and Jim discuss what they've enjoyed in the tournament so far, and speak to ex-Welsh rugby player and Gower MP Tonia Antoniazzi about how far women's rugby has come.

Founded in 1984, Women in Sport is the longest-standing charity in its field with a proud history of securing change for women and girls. At its heart lies a deep understanding of the needs of women and girls in relation to sport and a passion to address the stubborn gender inequalities that still exist.

Based on expert insight, Women in Sport challenges the system, offers solutions and inspires change. Not only do we believe in girls and women having access to fair and safe sport for the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits it offers, but we care about this because it can address health inequalities and help society to thrive.

We continue to build strong partnerships with the corporate, sports and leisure sectors, grow our influence in parliament and develop powerful projects. By doing so we have led the field in creating change for teenage girls and challenged the system to better serve women in midlife.

Website – Women in Sport – Home

Instagram – @womeninsport_uk

LinkedIn – @Women in Sport

Thank you to VeePod for the technical help and use of the studio to record this podcast.

Music: Luna Cantina - A Huevo

Welcome to our new Women's Rugby World Cup series, Off-Script and Onside, hosted by actor and sports fan Jim Carter, alongside ex-England rugby player Brian Moore.

In this episode, Brian and Jim look ahead to the Women's Rugby World Cup, and with their guest and ex-Scotland rugby player Lisa O'Keefe, discuss what they're hoping for the tournament.

Founded in 1984, Women in Sport is the longest-standing charity in its field with a proud history of securing change for women and girls. At its heart lies a deep understanding of the needs of women and girls in relation to sport and a passion to address the stubborn gender inequalities that still exist.

Based on expert insight, Women in Sport challenges the system, offers solutions and inspires change. Not only do we believe in girls and women having access to fair and safe sport for the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits it offers, but we care about this because it can address health inequalities and help society to thrive.

We continue to build strong partnerships with the corporate, sports and leisure sectors, grow our influence in parliament and develop powerful projects. By doing so we have led the field in creating change for teenage girls and challenged the system to better serve women in midlife.

Website – Women in Sport – Home

Instagram – @womeninsport_uk

LinkedIn – Women in Sport

Thank you to VeePod for the technical help and use of the studio to record this podcast.

Edited and mixed by Steven George.

Music: Luna Cantina - A Huevo

This is part two of our two-episode deep dive into why Black British girls fall out of love with sport at such an alarming rate.

Black girls tell us that they want sport to be a ‘safe space’ where they really belong and fit in, but the older they get, the more challenging they find it to continue. Too often they feel unwelcome, singled out and having to contend with racist stereotyping.

In part one, we looked at elite sport. In this episode, our focus is on the grass roots.

Presenter:

Julia George, journalist, broadcaster and former gymnast

Guests:

Lee Bailey is a community engagement manager at the Black Swimming Association, which was founded in 2020 to address a lack of water confidence and skills and reduce drowning among racially diverse communities especially Black Brits.  

Bunmi Durowoju is a presenter and leader in tech, a mum of four and a rugby coach and player.

Joanne Oguntimehin is an associate director at Humankind Research. Humankind

conducted our qualitative research with Black British teenage girls, which has inspired this podcast.

DONATE and support our work here

Founded in 1984, Women in Sport is the longest-standing charity in its field with a proud history of securing change for women and girls. At its heart lies a deep understanding of the needs of women and girls in relation to sport and a passion to address the stubborn gender inequalities that still exist.

Based on expert insight, Women in Sport challenges the system, offers solutions and inspires change. Not only do we believe in girls and women having access to fair and safe sport for the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits it offers, but we care about this because it can address health inequalities and help society to thrive.

We continue to build strong partnerships with the corporate, sports and leisure sectors, grow our influence in parliament and develop powerful projects. By doing so we have led the field in creating change for teenage girls and challenged the system to better serve women in midlife.

Instagram – Instagram.com/womeninsport_uk

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/women-in-sport

TikTok – tiktok.com/@womeninsport

Thank you to Whistledown Productions for the technical help and use of the studio to record this podcast.

Edited and mixed by Steven George

Music: Luna Cantina - A Huevo  

In the next couple of episodes, we’re focussing on the needs and experiences of Black teenage girls.

Our research shows that they have some of the most positive attitudes to and aspirations in sport. 60 per cent of Black girls aged 13-24 dream of reaching the top in sport, compared to 33 per cent of White British girls.

And yet Black girls are the least physically active groups of girls.

Our latest research - to be published in the spring of 2025 - includes the testimonies of black girls, including, crucially, those who have fallen out of love with sport. We want to know why. And what we can do to prevent this.

Presenter: 

Julia George, journalist, broadcaster, and former gymnast 

Guests:

Yasmin Clarke started as a bright young tennis star, progressed into coaching and now works as a commentator and counsellor for the Lawn Tennis Association. 

Kadeena Cox OBE has won multiple gold medals in athletics and cycling across three Paralympic Games from 2016 to 2024.

Danielle Hogan is the diversity and belonging lead for England Netball. She was a junior England netballer herself and now coaches the under 17s at Birmingham Panthers in the NSL. 

Women in Sport was founded in 1984 and its vision is that no-one is excluded from the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits of sport and exercise.

 Recognising that gender stereotypes and institutional bias are holding women back in life and in sport, the charity’s purpose is to give every woman and girl the opportunity to take part and inspire her to do so.

If you love what our charity stands for, please do consider making a donation by clicking here. Any donations made before 31 March 2025 will be doubled by a generous donor to mark our 40th Anniversary.

Find out more about us here

Follow Us

Instagram – Instagram.com/womeninsport_uk

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/women-in-sport

TikTok – tiktok.com/@womeninsport

Thank you to Whistledown Productions for the use of the studio to record this podcast.

Recorded and mixed by Steven George

Music: Luna Cantina - A Huevo

In November 2024 Women in Sport held our 40th anniversary conference in London.

In this episode of the podcast we’ll hear further highlights from the event, featuring a discussion chaired by Dame Katherine Grainger, the new Chair of the British Olympic Association.

Nick Read, managing director of Vitality Programme

Caroline Hawkings, Chief Talent Officer at Savanta

Dan Frumkin, CEO of Metro Bank

Viki Monk, The Collective at Wasserman

These four senior figures in the business world talk about how they have put sport at the heart of their corporate agendas.

The episode is introduced by the journalist and former gymnast Julia George.

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DONATE and support our work here

Founded in 1984, Women in Sport is the longest-standing charity in its field with a proud history of securing change for women and girls. At its heart lies a deep understanding of the needs of women and girls in relation to sport and a passion to address the stubborn gender inequalities that still exist.

Based on expert insight, Women in Sport challenges the system, offers solutions and inspires change. Not only do we believe in girls and women having access to fair and safe sport for the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits it offers, but we care about this because it can address health inequalities and help society to thrive.

We continue to build strong partnerships with the corporate, sports and leisure sectors, grow our influence in parliament and develop powerful projects. By doing so we have led the field in creating change for teenage girls and challenged the system to better serve women in midlife.

Instagram – Instagram.com/womeninsport_uk

X – x.com/womeninsport_uk

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/women-in-sport

TikTok – tiktok.com/@womeninsport

Thank you to the Royal Institute of British Architects for hosting our conference.

Thank you to Vitality, Metro Bank and Wasserman for their generous sponsorship of the event.

Edited and mixed by Steven George

Music: Luna Cantina - A Huevo  

In November 2024 Women in Sport held our 40th anniversary conference in London.

In this episode of the podcast we’ll hear some highlights from the event, featuring a discussion chaired by Julia George with three high-profile women in sport, talking about their vision for the future – and what makes them mad about the lack of progress towards true equality.

Paula Dunn MBE is the first female head coach appointed by UK Athletics

Lisa O’Keefe MBE is the Secretary General of the International Working Group on Women and Sport

Kelly Simmonds OBE spent thirty years at the Football Association, latterly as the director of the women’s professional game

All of them faced down some kind of prejudice, misogyny or discrimination on their way to the top.

****

DONATE and support our work here

Founded in 1984, Women in Sport is the longest-standing charity in its field with a proud history of securing change for women and girls. At its heart lies a deep understanding of the needs of women and girls in relation to sport and a passion to address the stubborn gender inequalities that still exist.

Based on expert insight, Women in Sport challenges the system, offers solutions and inspires change. Not only do we believe in girls and women having access to fair and safe sport for the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits it offers, but we care about this because it can address health inequalities and help society to thrive.

We continue to build strong partnerships with the corporate, sports and leisure sectors, grow our influence in parliament and develop powerful projects. By doing so we have led the field in creating change for teenage girls and challenged the system to better serve women in midlife.

Instagram – Instagram.com/womeninsport_uk

X – x.com/womeninsport_uk

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/women-in-sport

TikTok – tiktok.com/@womeninsport

Thank you to the Royal Institute of British Architects for hosting our conference.

Thank you to Vitality, Metro Bank and Wasserman for their generous sponsorship of the event.

Edited and mixed by Steven George

Music: Luna Cantina - A Huevo  

It’s August 2024 and this week, the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games begins.

The Paralympics, as we commonly know them, have their roots in the Stoke Mandeville Games, first held in 1948, when only wheelchair athletes competed.

In 1960, they were renamed as the Paralympic Games, and in 1976, para-athletes besides wheelchair users were allowed to compete for the first time.

My guest today was one of those. And she didn’t just compete – she cleaned up.

Monica Vaughan represented Great Britain in swimming at two Paralympics.

Five Gold medals in Toronto in ’76 were followed by four more plus a Silver in Arnhem in Germany in 1980.

By the way, thank you to Stylist Magazine for naming us as one of the best podcasts about women in sport.

"From Stoke Mandeville to Stratford" - A History of the Summer Paralympic Games by Ian Brittain

Toronto 1976

Monica Vaughan profile National Paralympic Heritage Trust

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Women in Sport was founded in 1984 and its vision is that no-one is excluded from the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits of sport and exercise.

Recognising that gender stereotypes and institutional bias are holding women back in life and in sport, the charity’s purpose is to give every woman and girl the opportunity to take part and inspire her to do so.

DONATE and support our work here

Find out more about us here

Instagram – Instagram.com/womeninsport_uk

X – x.com/womeninsport_uk

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/women-in-sport

TikTok – tiktok.com/@womeninsport

Thank you to Whistledown Productions for the technical help and use of the studio to record this podcast.

Edited and mixed by Steven George

Music: Luna Cantina - A Huevo  

This year marks Women in Sport’s 40th anniversary and we've relaunched our podcast!

This week the world’s top athletes will gather in Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Few of us will ever know what its like to represent our country in elite sport. Fewer still will know the feeling of standing on the podium whilst the national anthem plays.

Joanna Rowsell MBE knows exactly what this is like. She has two gold medals - one from London in 2012 and the other from Rio in 2016 – both in the Team Pursuit.

Add to that, five World Championship titles, multiple World Cup Gold medals and a standing world record, also in Team Pursuit.

Presenter: Julia George

Watch and listen to the BBC commentary of Joanna's moment of Olympic glory:

Copyright BBC 1984

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Women in Sport was founded in 1984 and its vision is that no-one is excluded from the joy, fulfilment and lifelong benefits of sport and exercise.

Recognising that gender stereotypes and institutional bias are holding women back in life and in sport, the charity’s purpose is to give every woman and girl the opportunity to take part and inspire her to do so.

DONATE and support our work here

Find out more about us here

Instagram – Instagram.com/womeninsport_uk

X – x.com/womeninsport_uk

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/women-in-sport

TikTok – tiktok.com/@womeninsport

Thank you to David Prest at Whistledown Productions for the technical help and use of the studio to record this podcast.

Edited and mixed by Steven George

Music: Luna Cantina - A Huevo