A national strategy to prevent and address all forms of violence against women and girls has been renewed to build on recent progress.
Equally Safe, a joint strategy with COSLA, was first published in 2014, and is backed by the Delivering Equally Safe Fund that is providing £19m per year to support 121 projects from 112 organisations.
One significant milestone reached, supported by the strategy’s aims, saw the Domestic Abuse Act passed by Parliament in 2018, which created a specific offence of domestic abuse that covers physical and psychological abuse as well as coercive and controlling behaviour.
Published today during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, the refreshed strategy is focussed on increasing collaboration across sectors to tackle the attitudes and values that result in violence against women and girls.
A delivery strategy will be published next Spring and will set out further actions to achieve that goal.
Victims Minister Siobhian Brown said: “Violence against women and girls has no place in our society. The impact of violence is wide-ranging and can have a long-term lasting effect on the lives of those affected, their families and communities.
“This refreshed strategy builds on progress made to date in raising awareness of the prevalence and harmful effects of violence against women and girls, strengthening the law, and providing support and resources to public and third sector workers helping those affected.
“Our Delivering Equally Safe Fund focusses on early intervention and prevention, as well as support services and I am pleased that around 32,000 adults and children benefitted last year.
“There remains work to do and sustained action is needed. That is why our future vision focuses on finding opportunities to work collaboratively and constructively whenever possible to stamp out violence wherever we see it and preventing it happening in the first place.”
COSLA’s Community Wellbeing Spokesperson, Councillor Maureen Chalmers said: “For nearly a decade, COSLA and the Scottish Government have worked in partnership to eradicate violence, abuse and exploitation of women and girls from Scotland.
“Our collaborative efforts have been undertaken with specialist services, public sector organisations, and local authorities. These have propelled us forward in building a more equal and safer Scotland for everyone.
“These firm foundations have allowed us to refresh the Equally Safe Strategy. It emphasises the importance of prevention, collaborative leadership, and reaffirms the unwavering commitment from both local and Scottish governments to achieve our shared goals.”
Celebrating diversity through creativity in our schools was the theme of the Saroj Lal Award for Edinburgh Schools event held at the City Chambers on Thursday night (16 November).
Saroj Lal was one of the first Asian women to teach in a Scottish primary school when she began her role at South Morningside Primary School in 1970.
Her many successes included being at the forefront of race relations during a period of immense political and social change, delivering anti-racism training and starting the first local authority interpreting and translating service in Edinburgh.
Following her death in 2020, Saroj’s many achievements in equality, women’s rights, education, and community work are being formally recognised.
Every year our schools are invited to nominate pupil work relating to any aspect of equalities, in any artform. Headteachers were also invited to nominate staff, whose collaborative work around equalities has taken a creative approach and had an impact.
All nominated work will be used to start building a resource bank for schools. This year saw more schools and pupils enter with 11 schools nominated, 33 pupil/pupil group nominations and two teacher nominations submitted.
The entries were considered by a panel of judges, comprising Saroj Lal’s son and equalities campaigner Vineet Lal, Katie D’Souza (2022 Joint winner of the GTC Scotland Saroj Lal Award) and Nikhat Yusaf, Senior Development Officer Equalities for the City of Edinburgh Council.
The award categories for pupils were as follows:
Proud to be Me: Communicates the young person’s personal expression of pride in their heritage, in their own culture and/or identity.
How Prejudice Makes Me Feel: Expresses young people’s feelings about any form of prejudice inflicted on themselves or others.
Artivism: Art expresses their views on social justice and challenges others to change and/or act differently.
There were joint winners for the Proud to be Me category: Lily Schiller-Chatwood, Leith Academy and Natali Rawat, St Thomas of Aquin’s RC High School.
In the How Prejudice Makes Me Feel category the winner was Amna Parveen, Castlebrae Community Campus.
For the Artivism category the winner were the Equalities Lead Pupils at St Augustine’s High School.
The staff winner was Elaine Oram, James Gillespie’s High School.
The Commendation winner, was a whole school effort, and went to Currie Primary School.
Councillor Joan Griffiths, Education, Children and Families Convener, hosted the event and said: “These awards build on the rich legacy that Saroj Lal left in her decades of pioneering work in Edinburgh and beyond. They recognise the work schools and pupils are doing to challenge the many forms of prejudice and discrimination.
I am so glad to see that in the Awards second year, many more schools have engaged with the award and submitted such a range of creative works, to include films, animation, poetry, and art works, demonstrating that diversity is thriving in our schools.
“The creativity, insights and depth of thinking on display have been hugely impressive, and everyone involved – pupils and staff – deserves to be congratulated.”
Vineet Lal, son of Saroj Lal, and one of the Award judges, said: “It has been thrilling to see the passion and enthusiasm demonstrated by all those taking part in the Saroj Lal Award for Edinburgh Schools.
“The sheer scope and breadth of nominations, from almost a dozen participating schools this year, illustrates how engaged our local pupils are with issues linked to equality, diversity and inclusion, and it has been a pleasure and a privilege to be part of the judging panel.
“The creativity, insights and depth of thinking on display have been hugely impressive, and everyone involved – pupils and staff – deserves to be congratulated.
Last night’s event followed on from Portobello High School biology teacher Hardeep Kaur being awarded the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC Scotland) Saroj Lal Award for a Pioneering Spirit in Equality and Diversity.
Aims of The Saroj Lal Award for City of Edinburgh Schools:
Mark the important legacy of Saroj Lal’s life and work.
Inspire action and promote equalities work in the widest sense.
Ensure pupils’ views, ideas and experiences are central and communicated widely through creative approaches.
Create a bank of resources for schools to use and share.
Challenge perceptions, remove stigma and celebrate diversity.
School libraries across Scotland will receive a £200,000 funding boost for projects supporting anti-racism and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion to recognise the issues that matter to our children and young people.
The School Library Improvement Fund (SLIF) is the Scottish Government-supported national funding programme which supports creative and innovative projects within the school library sector.
Available to all state-run nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools, the 2023-24 fund once again puts a priority focus on project applications which support anti-racism and racial equality. The scheme officially opens for applications on Wednesday (23 August).
The 2023/24 fund will build on the anti-discrimination work undertaken in schools last year – including Ross High School in Tranent’s ‘Stand Up and Be Counted’ project, which developed a racial equality digital resource to recognise, represent and celebrate diversity in school libraries and communities across East Lothian.
Last year’s funding also supported the collaborative Academy programme in Clackmannanshire, which saw a series of progressive diversity and equality workshops launched with the Empathy Lab as part of the ‘Building Empathy Through Books’ initiative.
Apportioning funding to initiatives which help school library services achieve the key aims of ‘Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools: A National Strategy for School Libraries in Scotland 2018-2023’ – the strategic document for the development of school libraries, the announcement of this year’s fund brings the total investment from the Scottish Government to £1.7m over the lifetime of the School Library Strategy strategy.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “School libraries play a vital role in the learning experiences of children and young people across the country. They are also places where positive values can be celebrated and developed, which is why I am delighted to continue our support for them through this fund.
“I am determined that inclusion, diversity and representation will be at the heart of our education system. This fund’s focus on developing anti-racism resources will help ensure that children and young people understand the harmful consequences of racism and discrimination, and encourage them to actively challenge it wherever it occurs.”
Pamela Tulloch, Chief Executive of the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) which administers the fund on behalf of the Scottish Government, added: “School libraries play a central role in helping children and young people gain the knowledge, skills and attributes needed for learning, life and work.
“They ensure every young person has the chance to fulfil their full potential, so it’s great to see this level of Scottish Government funding pledged to support the aims of ‘Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools’ once again.
“From physical and digital resources to collaborative workshops and initiatives, SLIF grants can help school libraries improve and expand the services they offer for their pupils, staff and the community around them.
“As we continue to put a focus on projects advocating for anti-racism and anti-discrimination, we would encourage every nursery, primary and secondary school to consider how they can help lead the way in developing our services and apply for funding today.”
Schools can apply via individual application or collaborative application with SLIC accepting up to two individual applications per local authority and an unlimited number of collaborative applications to ensure equal opportunities across Scotland.
The School Library Improvement Fund 2023-24 is now open to applications and will close at 12pm on Wednesday 20 September 2023.
Against the backdrop of the world’s biggest cycling event in history, discussions are taking place which aim to further boost equality, diversity and inclusion across Scotland’s world-renowned events sector.
The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships has seen competitions for disabled and non-disabled athletes taking place alongside each other. This inclusive approach has helped to showcase and raise awareness of Para sport.
Yesterday in Glasgow Culture Secretary Angus Robertson hosted a roundtable with partners representing people with protected characteristics, such as race and young people, to explore ways to strengthen the approach to the planning, delivery and legacy of major events.
Along with a public consultation and stakeholder workshops held earlier in 2023, this will inform the refreshed National Events Strategy for 2025-2035.
Mr Robertson said: “It’s important that collectively we make most of the many benefits events can bring to the lives of diverse communities right across Scotland.
“The UCI Cycling World Championships are a great example of how mega events like this can showcase our cultural diversity, boost accessibility and extend a warm welcome to all communities.
“The inclusion of Para sports in the Cycling World Championships has contributed significantly to the atmosphere. The competitive spirit and level of skill and dedication demonstrated by all athletes taking part side by side has been inspirational and an important part of the success of the event.
“We want our portfolio of world-class events to deliver positive economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits for everyone in Scotland.”
Scottish Labour’s Shadow Minister for Culture Foysol Choudhury MSP said that championships as such are an excellent opportunity to get more people into sports and showcase all that Scotland has to offer to the world.
The Lothians list MSP said: “With our fantastic landscape and cities as backdrops for the event, it’s been great to show the world exactly why so many of us are proud to call Scotland our home.
“Not only that, but it’s really helped to encourage sport, amongst young people and adults alike.
“We not only have breath-taking scenery if you want to cycle outdoors, but we also have excellent velodromes for indoor cycling.
“This is a great opportunity to embrace active travel as part of a healthy lifestyle and start cycling again-I know I’ve definitely been inspired to get back into the habit!”
As part of the build-up to the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, an £8 million Cycling Facilities Fund has been jointly invested by the Scottish Government and Sportscotland to support cycling communities and club facilities across Scotland.
Mr Choudhury continued: “To encourage active travel and sport, we need to make sure that everybody has access to the equipment and facilities needed to participate. That’s why funding to community and club facilities is so important.
“I would like to congratulate two projects from West Lothian – Balbardie Park Pump Track and West Lothian Cycle Circuit, Linlithgow – who have received awards of £45,433 and £636,011, respectively.
“I hope that my constituents can make use of the benefits that these funds can bring.
“Let’s all get inspired by the Championships this summer and join in to feel the Power Of The Bike! “
Male pension pots are two thirds larger than women’s on average
Only 23% of women are confident they will be able to retire comfortably
Fewer women than men have pensions, and those who do are saving less than their male counterparts, reveals independent research conducted on behalf of Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management.
Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management’s report,Can we solve the gender wealth gap? highlights the disparity in retirement savings between men and women, revealing that over a fifth (26%) of women have no formal pension savings at all, compared to just 16% of men.
Women’s pension pots were found to be substantially smaller too. The average pension across amounts for all respondents stood at £103,037. However, male respondents’ pension pots were found to be significantly higher, averaging at £142,234, while women’s came in at just over a third of this, at an average of £51,384.
It is therefore unsurprising that only 23% of women surveyed stated they are confident that they will be able to retire comfortably, with over a third (35%) believing they won’t be able to.
However, there are signs that things could be turning around for the next generation. While women over the age of 40 are generally less likely to have a pension than men of a similar age (63% vs 80%), men and women in their 30s were found to be equally likely to have a pension (77%). For adults under 30, women were found to be more likely to have a pension than men (76% vs 59%).
The research also revealed that most people tend to leave the management of their pension to their workplace pension provider (45%). Men were slightly more likely than women (43% versus 37%) to manage their own pensions, such as via a self-invested personal pension scheme (SIPP).
However, more than half (56%) of those who self-manage their pensions admitted that they seldom check their retirement savings – of which 64% were female.
Christine Ross, Head of Private Office (North) & Client Director at Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management, said: “Women on average continue to remain a long way behind men in pension savings, with the problem at its most acute among older generations who are closer to retirement.
After decades of gender disparity, it’s encouraging to finally see clear evidence of change, with pension take up reaching parity among thirtysomethings, and women in their twenties ahead of their male counterparts.
The recent steps taken at a government level have the potential to further close the gender pensions gap, including the free childcare scheme expansion announced at the Spring Budget, which should allow more working mothers to return to the workplace and build their pension savings.
“But despite signs of progress, there is still considerable work to be done. Education around pensions needs to be improved, as does women’s confidence in financial products. We strongly encourage seeking advice on long-term financial planning where possible, to ensure that the plans you have in place are fit for purpose on an ongoing basis.
“Generally, it is important to review your pension regularly and to top up your workplace pensions where possible. If you’re unable to pay into a formal pension, there are plenty of other options to consider, including ISAs, which offer tax-free savings.”
Responding to this year’s 2023 International Women’s Day, Foysol Choudhury MSP said:“International Women’s Day is a wonderful celebration dating back over 100 years. It is a chance to celebrate women’s achievements and raise awareness of the continued fight for equality.
“International Women’s Day highlights the ever-evolving issues women have faced: voting rights, equality in the workplace and under the law and changing social attitudes.
“It is important that we also use International Women’s Day to highlight the experience of women from a diverse range of backgrounds.
“For example, in Ukraine, we are seeing women struggle disproportionately with human trafficking when being displaced. This is something I have addressed in the Scottish Parliament’s debate marking a year of war in Ukraine.
“In 2022, I spoke to the Scottish Parliament about the importance of creating opportunities that specifically target women from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds to get involved in sport, as hostility and abuse within sport can lead to low-levels of participation from BAME women and girls.
“For International Women’s Day 2023, I spoke in the Scottish Parliament debate on Wednesday to address how women from ethnic minorities can face overlapping systems of discrimination: both racism and misogyny.
“Many women from ethnic minorities experience misogyny in different ways and we need to recognise this multiplicity of experience in order to tackle misogyny.
“I am also particularly worried about the treatment of women when wearing items such as the hijab. Many Muslim women wear these as a sign of modesty and faith, but in the UK they have been met with violence and harassment.
“I’ve even heard cases of women avoiding train stations in fear that someone would push them on to the tracks.
“International Women’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to make efforts to combat these issues.
“There are already tracks being made on some of these issues, for example Scottish Rugby recently announced a system was being put in place to allow concerns to be raised over racism and misogyny.
“This can’t be the end point, however. The commitment to these underrepresented women needs to remain a core element of all sports, and indeed all sectors, across Scotland.
“The involvement of ethnic and religious minority women to the same level as everyone else needs to happen before Scotland can confidently say it is a diverse and accepting nation with equality for all.”
The winners of the first ever edition of the Saroj Lal Award for City of Edinburgh Schools were announced at the City Chambers this week.
The ceremony consisted of award judges, the family of Saroj Lal, student/teacher nominees and their families, along with Council colleagues and other invited guests.
Saroj Lal was one of the first BAME women to teach in a Scottish primary school when she began her role at South Morningside Primary School in 1970
. Her many successes included being at the forefront of race relations during a period of immense political and social change, delivering anti-racism training and starting the first local authority interpreting and translating service in Edinburgh.
Following her death in 2020, Saroj’s many achievements in equality, women’s rights, education, and community work are being formally recognised.
All City of Edinburgh schools were invited to nominate pupil work relating to any aspect of equalities, in any artform. Headteachers were also invited to nominate staff, whose collaborative work around equalities has taken a creative approach and had an impact.
All nominated work will be used to start building a resource bank for schools. There were 9 schools who nominated, with 13 pupil/pupil group nominations and 4 teacher nominations submitted.
All work submitted was considered by a panel of judges, comprising Saroj Lal’s son Vineet Lal, Debora Kayembe (Rector of The University of Edinburgh), Theo Ogbhemhe (teacher in Orkney who was winner of the first GTCS Saroj Lal Award), and young person, Alanah Walker.
The award categories for students were as follows:
Proud to be Me: Communicates the young person’s personal expression of pride their heritage, in their own culture and/or identity.
How Prejudice Makes Me Feel: Expresses young people’s feelings about any form prejudice inflicted on themselves or others.
Artivism: Art expresses their views on social justice and challenges others to change and/or act differently.
All the nominated work was celebrated at the ceremony hosted by Councillor Joan Griffiths, Education, Children and Families Convener.
The winner for the Proud to be Me category was Anum Shezad of The Royal High School.
In the How Prejudice Makes Me Feel category the winner was Freya Wilson of The Flora Stevenson Primary School.
For the Artivism category the winner was the Rights Respecting Schools Group, comprising four senior pupils from Firrhill High School namely Jess Daly, Alisha McLeod, Sara McLeod and Jane Williams.
The staff winner was Rory Murray, again of Firrhill High School, with the special Judges’ Commendation going to Jane O’Thy, of Boroughmuir High School.
Councillor Joan Griffiths, Education, Children and Families Convener said: “I am incredibly proud to oversee the inaugural Saroj Lal Award for City of Edinburgh Schools as Education, Children and Families Convener.
“These pupils and their achievements are a testament to the rich legacy that Saroj Lal left in her decades of pioneering work in Edinburgh and beyond. This award provides an opportunity to reflect not only on the life on a seminal and inspiring woman in Saroj Lal but an opportunity to look ahead to the future with pupils across the Capital showing their passion for equality, diversity and social justice.”
Vineet Lal, son of Saroj Lal, and one of the Award judges said: “I have been blown away by the sheer creativity and depth of thought demonstrated by all those pupils and staff nominated for the inaugural Saroj Lal Award for Schools.
“I have been truly amazed by the variety and originality with which they have embraced the spirit of equality and diversity and captured that spirit so beautifully in their submissions.
“Saroj was a pioneering force in the struggle for justice and fairness for all, and I think she would have been very proud indeed that her trailblazing work in the City of Edinburgh and beyond should inspire new generations to champion those same values.”
Aims of The Saroj Lal Award for City of Edinburgh Schools:
Mark the important legacy of Saroj Lal’s life and work.
Inspire action and promote equalities work in the widest sense.
Ensure pupils’ views, ideas and experiences are central and communicated widely through creative approaches.
Create a bank of resources for schools to use and share.
Challenge perceptions, remove stigma and celebrate diversity.
This month, two world leaders in gender equality will join forces to further support women’s and girls’ health and rights.
Together these two organizations will form one of the largest networks for women’s empowerment in the world. Following the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the right to an abortion in the US, it is imperative strong activists and advocacy groups come together than ever before.
“Women’s March Global is honored to find a new home as part of the White Ribbon Alliance,” says Betsy Scolnik, former board chair of Women’s March Global. “Our organizations are deeply aligned in our beliefs and in the fight for women, girls and gender diverse people’s equality.”
“We are both very excited to enter this new chapter of our work,” says Kristy Kade, CEO of White Ribbon Alliance. “We look forward to the day that every woman, girl, and gender-diverse person has the respect, equality, dignity, and autonomy they deserve.”
Women’s March Global began in 2017 when millions of women and allies around the world took to the streets to have their voices heard. The global movement is now a network with thousands of members around the world who continue to take action and advance women’s human rights.
White Ribbon Alliance and Women’s March Global will work closely with chapters and partners in the coming months to build a stronger community.
A town hall meeting will also be taking place in the near future that will further amplify the incredible work this shared community will be doing.
One passion, one tournament and one subtle name change to a familiar football phrase that is being substituted by Heineken®
Ellie Taylor, Harry Redknapp, Karen Carney, Jermaine Jenas, and AJ Odudu show fans of all genders how they can show their passion and be the ‘12th Woman’ for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022.
The unlikely group star in a new campaign from Heineken® that urges all fans of football to declare themselves the ‘12th Woman’ – starting with this summer’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 tournament.
Heineken is releasing an official ‘12th Woman’ tournament t-shirt – as worn by its celebrity squad – for public sale. Fans can wear the t-shirts to show their support at home, in pubs and at UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 matches.
All profits from the 12th Woman t-shirts will be donated to Women in Football, an NFP that supports the women’s game.
The 12th Woman is part of a wider campaign entitled ‘Passion Knows No Gender – Cheers To All Fans’ where Heineken® is challenging bias and promoting equality in football, on and off the pitch, across all male and female UEFA competitions.
You’d look twice if you saw them enter a pub together for the big match, so what do Ellie Taylor, Harry Redknapp, AJ Odudu, Karen Carney and Jermaine Jenas all have in common? They’re passionate fans of football and for this summer’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 they are all showing their support for the beautiful game by becoming the ‘12th Woman’.
This eclectic all-star squad was enlisted by Heineken®, Official Partner of UEFA Women’s Euro 2022, to be ambassadors for its new ‘12th Woman’ campaign. Throughout the tournament, Heineken is rallying fans of all genders to get behind their national teams by displaying a twist on the term usually associated with collective, passionate fan support: the 12th man.
The ‘12th Woman’ is part of an ongoing campaign by Heineken® which shines a light on bias and challenges stereotypes in football culture.
Stephanie Dexter of Heineken® commented, “For so long football culture and fandom has been influenced by the men’s game. So, while the women’s game has grown massively, a legacy of terms such as ‘man on’ and the ‘the 12th man’ continue to dominate.
“Meanwhile the ‘12th woman’ is relatively unheard of. We want this campaign to help close the gender phrase gap in football language, but also invite a conversation about the entrenched bias and inequality that persists across football culture.”
The ensemble of Taylor, Redknapp, Carney, Jenas, and Odudu officially issue Heineken’s invitation in a new film wherein they all declare themselves to be ‘12th Women’. In the video they bring attention to the decades-long gender imbalance in football language and encourage other fans to join the 12th Woman movement in time for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022.
The film shows Harry at the wheel of a van as he rounds up the celebrity fans to watch a tournament match at Wembley. Along the way the famous five question the unconscious bias in football terminology before exiting the van, walking down Wembley Way and proudly revealing their t-shirts – all emblazoned with the slogan ‘I Am The 12th Woman’.
But said Tees aren’t being reserved for the all-star cast – the good news for fans is that they’re being made available for public sale on Amazon for a price of £12.00 here with all profits donated to the NFP Women in Football.
Throughout the tournament supporters are encouraged to wear them in a show of allegiance, wherever they may be watching the action.
Karen Carney, who played 144 times for England said: “There are 11 women on the pitch who are giving everything to win for their country.
“Knowing that fans are cheering them on in the stands, at homes and in pubs across the country makes a difference and that’s why being a 12th Woman and saying it aloud really matters. Football fans’ approach to this tournament could be a major stepping-stone to real change in terms of how we all talk about football.”
Harry Redknapp said: “When I was playing professionally it really was a man’s game – women were banned from playing football in 1921 and the Women’s Football Association wasn’t even established until 1969.
“Thankfully times have changed, and in a big way, and I’m really proud to be a 12th woman and to wear the T-shirt for all to see. Some people could be confused by the term the ‘12th Woman’, they might have to stop and think. But that’s the whole point, that’s what Heineken is trying to do with this campaign.”
Yvonne Harrison, CEO at Women in Football said: “We’ve been really impressed by Heineken’s commitment to addressing gender inequality in football.
“That’s what Women in Football is all about too, so it’s fantastic to team up with them on the 12th Woman campaign.Every action that supports our work and amplifies our message helps to level the playing field and make football a fairer and better place.”
With two-thirds of women in football having experienced gender discrimination*, Heineken® is on a mission to evolve its sponsorships in the sport by addressing harmful stereotypes which are perpetuated by an outdated footballing phrasebook.
It’s time to tackle gender inequality in the beautiful game by interrogating the unconscious bias in the songs we sing, match reports we write and even the encouragement we give.
Stephanie Dexter concluded: “In its aim to be the most inclusive football sponsor, Heineken® is inviting supporters to confront the bias and promote equality.
“We’ve created this campaign and, with the support of our ambassadors, we hope that the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 is the first step in changing the way we think and speak about sport. We can see a future where football is just called football, no matter who is on the pitch or in the stands.”
Heineken®’s first move in correcting the gender bias in football was to address inaccurate statistics present across the internet that are often the source of the prejudice.
‘Fresher Football’ is a webpage in partnership with GOAL that provides correct responses to the most popular questions asked online about the UEFA Champions League. It includes key data and statistics on the women’s game, which are often overlooked.
The aim of Fresher Football is to encourage search engines and fan sites to recognise, amend and update their current information to give accurate answers, regardless of gender.
Jermaine Jenas, BBC presenter and former England footballer said: “The profile of the women’s game has risen massively over the past 10 to 15 years and players such as Lucy Bronze and Karen Carney have rightfully taken their places alongside some of the greats of the men’s game.
“But the culture and language attached to the women’s game still lags behind. Women’s football has inherited male-oriented terminology – phrases like ‘man on’, and, of course the ‘12th man’.
“I’m extremely proud to be part of a campaign that celebrates the women’s game and the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, but also one that addresses issues of gender inequality around our national sport.”
Presenter AJ Odudu, said: “The brilliant thing is that anyone can be a 12th Woman.
“I can’t wait for the tournament to start and I can’t wait to put on my 12th Woman Tee, head to the pub and enjoy what should be a true festival of football.”
TV comedian and writer, Ellie Taylor said: “It’s not every day you get recruited by the national treasure that is Harry Redknapp to join a cohort of fabulously talented people all committed to re-engineering an outdated football phrase – and celebrating the women’s game.
“Harry had me at hello to be honest. In all seriousness, I love watching big tournament football and I’m thrilled to be a 12th Woman. It might not be a thing, yet. But it will be”.
