Today BT Sport broadcaster Clare Balding joined Inspiring Women founder Miriam González Durántez and 300 girls from 18 state schools at the London Aquatics Centre for ‘career speed networking’ with women working across the sport sector. 55 influential women from sports governing bodies, professional athletes and sports media took part. Sports represented include everything from archery to volleyball.
Backed by principal partner BT Sport and also the British Olympic Association and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Inspiring Women called upon females working in this sector to pledge one hour a year to talk with girls in state schools nationally about forging a career in this traditionally male dominated industry.
More career speed networking sessions are taking place across the country during Inspiring Women in Sport Week – 23 February to 1 March 2015 including events at BT Murrayfield rugby ground in Edinburgh and the National Tennis Centre in west London. The week is part of the wider Inspiring Women campaign, run by charity the Education and Employers Taskforce with key strategic partner and lead corporate supporter, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which already has 12,650 female volunteers across all sectors.
Inspiring Women ‘career speed networker’ and BT Sport broadcaster Clare Balding said: “I have been lucky enough to work in sports broadcasting and journalism for over twenty years. I love my job and am determined to do as much as I can to help girls and young women aware of the opportunities available in sport for a fulfilling and enjoyable career. There are so many options across the board – whether it be in event management, coaching, marketing, sports science, journalism or governance and I know that when you are in your teens deciding which path to take, it can make all the difference to have access to worlds you may not have considered. I know that this exciting event at the Aquatics Centre will help inspire girls to pursue a career in sport and I’m delighted to be a part of it.”
Inspiring Women campaign founder and champion Miriam González Durántez said: “It is wonderful to see the Olympic Aquatics Centre taken over by so many amazing women and girls sharing a common interest: sport. It is particularly uplifting to see, for the first time, all the sport bodies united with the aim of inspiring the next generations of girls. All the women who have come today are sharing their experiences with the girls and showing to them the many fulfilling and rewarding sport sector careers that are within their reach.”
See the event Flickr Album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edu_employers/sets/72157651039347925/
See a selection of media coverage:
BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-31627312
BBC School Report written by school pupils trained for the morning by the BBC; http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport/31627929
Essex Guardian newspapers: http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/11821830.Teens_encouraged_towards_sport_careers/
Broadcaster Clare Balding’s blog: http://www.clarebalding.co.uk/news/clare-dives-in-to-career-speed-networking