12th June 2020

British Athletics And German Athletics Association Collaborate To Host Gender Leadership Webinar Programme

12 June 2020

British Athletics and the German Athletics Association are hosting a pilot Gender Leadership webinar programme, starting later this month, as part of a commitment to upskilling future female leaders within the sport.  

Back in 2013, British Athletics launched the Women in World Athletics programme which grew as a project with the ambition of bringing women from across the world of athletics, together. This webinar series is a further example of the organisation’s commitment to engaging with current and future female leaders in athletics.

World Athletics and European Athletics hosted Gender Leadership Moderator seminars to the Member Federations at the end of 2019 which has led to a growing international network of female leaders, ready to deliver Gender Leadership seminars themselves in their respective federations.

The long-term goal is to see these seminars being held across different national federations and to enhance the international network of female leaders, and this programme between UKA and the German Athletics Association is the first of its kind.

Representatives – Karen Forbes, Jenny Meadows and Donna Fraser from the UK, and Katrin Heyers, from Germany – who attended the World Athletics and European Athletics seminars have collaborated to plan and deliver a pilot Gender Leadership webinar for a selected 15-20 women from two countries to collaborate and share experiences.

The first webinar will be ‘Setting the scene’ followed by two sessions on the ‘Importance of Diversity & Gender Equity’ and ‘Emotional Intelligence’ over the next three months.

A ‘buddy system’ will also be set up after the third webinar where the attendees will be paired with another participant (not within their own Federation), to ensure continued peer support and mentorship after the final webinar.

British Athletics Lead for Equality, Diversity and Engagement, Donna Fraser, said:

“British Athletics are delighted to be collaborating with the German Athletics Association on this exciting webinar series which aims to upskill female leaders across both organisations.

“We have a host of enthusiastic individuals who want to engage with the pilot programme, and through the continued peer support, the enriching opportunity will not stop at the end of the three webinars.

“This model, organised by World Athletics and European Athletics, in the long-term aims to enhance the international network of female leaders, and we are committed to working with these organisations to achieve that.”