International Women's Day 2020: Why fight this fight? Part 2 in our International Women's Day special By Heather McLean, Editor
Monday, March 9, 2020 - 14:55
Print This Story
Comparing notes and contacts at the SVG Europe Women summer event 2019 with Sky Sports and Sky Production Services
One question that members of SVG Europe Women are sometimes asked is why do we need a group in sports broadcasting especially for women? The answer is simple, and can be answered by taking a quick look around you.
Look at your company, look at other companies in the sports broadcasting industry, look at representation at trade shows and events, look at gender representation on panels. Women are in the minority.
A further layer to this is Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people; both BAME men and women are underrepresented in this industry, and women in particular.
International Women's Day on Sunday 8 March has created a great opportunity for us to cast a reflective eye at the sports broadcasting industry, and here we take a look at why we need women and BAME people in sports broadcasting. Why fight this fight?
Fight the fight
Premier League Productions head of production, Anna Ward, says look at the business sense behind having more people from differing backgrounds within your business. It's important to get diversity of all kinds into sports broadcasting so as to increase cognitive diversity across the board, she says. People who have had different life experiences and come from different backgrounds will bring that cognitive diversity.
The more people we have in the industry who think differently to one another, the more creative solutions we'll benefit from as an industry, Ward notes. If you have 10 people who all think the same looking at a problem you'll get 10 similar solutions; if you have 10 people who think differently you'll get 10 different solutions. That has to be a good thing!
Telstra Broadcast Services' Anna Lockwood, head of global sales, says the answer is obvious: Who wouldn't want to strengthen the industry they love? Diversity of sports broadcasting talent better represents the audiences, athletes and fans that we are serving, and makes the industry stronger for all. As well as more fun!
Diverse teams are more productive, more innovative, and better able to handle internal and external challenges and changes, all important characteristics for the global sports broadcasting business, Lockwood noted.
Sky Sports executive director of production services and operations, Inga Ruehl, says she sees two reasons why we should fight this fight: Number one, it is the right thing to do. We should enable everyone to have the same opportunities, regardless of gender or race or disability or sexual preference or age or social background etc.
Number two, it is good for business, Ruehl continues. The more diverse viewpoints and approaches we have the better we perform. It is not always the easiest when the teams are less homogenous, but it definitely provides for much better, rounded discussions and outcomes. And it is so easy and obvious to notice how discussions and dynamics change when the people in the room are from a more diverse background. It also definitely makes for an overall more inclusive environment as everyone has to work harder on that.
Sports presenters Abi Stephens, Reshmin Chowdhury and Eilidh Barbour at the previous SVG Europe Women winter networking event in November 2018
Claudia Corbisiero, producer at Noah Media Group, says: I think it has become quite apparent that there is a huge amount of value in diversity. Diversity brings out different perspectives, experiences and opinions which is so important in what we do. A diverse community consumes sports broadcasting, so why should this not be made, hosted, produced and directed by an equally diverse group of individuals?
Diversity is so refreshing in this industry as it helps us to try new things, tell different stories and see things in a whole new light, Corbisiero states.
Kylie Jenner, freelance director, agrees: Every work environment needs diversity, it brings different insights into situations. Too many of one group leads to a very narrow view of the world and sometimes a very unbalanced workplace with regards to attitudes.
Forging ahead
Paula Rigby, Noah Media Group head of international production development, states: Diversity in the sports broadcasting industry, or even within an organisation or company makes business sense, and anyone who doesn't recognise this is either a dinosaur or a fool. Fortunately, we have organisations like SVG Europe Women and many BAME-focused ones, which actively work to educate, as well as illuminate, middle-aged white men that diversity in the workplace and across our industry makes business sense.
I don't see it as a fight; I see it more as a necessity for the long term success of a business, Rigby continues. As an example I recently attended a conference in Lausanne; as only one of eight women attending it was a stark reminder that even though companies like Noah Media Group are at the forefront, recently voted one of the Top 10 Places to work in TV 2020, we're an anomaly not the norm, which is unfortunate in 2020.
Rigby states: My only advice is don't patronise people, no matter their gender, race, colour or creed. I might've been the only woman in that room and definitely the only Australian, but when someone earns their seat at the table they did it because they're good at their job!
Lise Cosimi, industry consultant and external head of the SVG Europe Women Advisory Board, says: Why fight? Because anyone who wants to work and follow her dream has the right to do it and should not be forbidden at entry!
Diversity in general is a basic requirement in life, she state
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
International Women's Day 2020: Why fight this fight? Part 2 in our International Women's Day special By Heather McLean, Editor 
