This International Women's Day, NRF is celebrating all our wāhine in football, in whatever role they hold in the game

"We're all richer for having diverse perspectives in our clubs and when young girls see women in leadership roles making a difference at their clubs, it shows they're welcome, valuable and can contribute too. NRF has equity of access at our heart, and supporting more women into leadership roles will be a measure of our success,” said Laura Menzies, NRF CEO.

To support women in the game and to encourage more women to take on leadership roles, NRF ran its first Women in Leadership course to kick off Girls and Womens Month for Auckland wāhine, and plans to run the course in Northland later this year.

The course was part of our Legacy Starts Now work, bringing New Zealand Football's Women in Leadership knowledge to a local level. Attendees included women leading and driving change through NRF's Gender Equity Charter, or who lead MILO Fantails from nine clubs across Auckland.

"The weekend was a fantastic opportunity to network with other women in football. It was a supportive environment where we could share similar struggles and challenges that are unique to women in these positions, like work-life balance and lack of representation," said Gail Hanekom, East Coast Bays' Operations Manager for Girls and Womens Football.  

Topics covered included leadership skills, increasing confidence, challenging bias and developing skills to help women present their ideas within their clubs.

"The women attending wanted to build connections with women like them who are driving change and doing the best they can for their clubs, it was really awesome to see them connect in that way. We had people of all ages and different backgrounds along," said NRF Area Manager Central and South Shannon Chapman, who co-ordinated the programme for NRF.

"We'd like to increase the visibility of women in leadership roles - a lot of women have coaching or refereeing roles, doing so much as well as juggling kids, work or University, so it’s amazing that people were able to commit to the two days."

With the first eight clubs signed up to NRF’s Gender Equity Charter making great progress developing their Action Plans, there is real momentum in driving inclusivity in our football clubs.

"I'd encourage women to seek out leadership opportunities by volunteering, networking, building skills and knowledge but most importantly finding a support structure. Breaking into these roles can be challenging so be confident and stay resilient, seek guidance and support from female and male connections who appreciate a women's voice and perspective," said Gail Hanekom

"The Wāhine in Football event held last year and the Women in Leadership programmes are ways to connect the amazing women in football and build a stronger community. It also supports women to take on new roles in our game, whether it’s that coaching, refereeing or running a club,” said Laura Menzies.

“We’ve seen lots of positive change across clubs in recent years and will support clubs to make sure this trend continues.”

Article added: Friday 08 March 2024