 of women working in football have experienced it. Nearly a quarter of those who experienced gender-based discrimination at work felt able to report it, which also represents a significant improvement on WIF's 2020 survey, when the figure was just 12 per cent. 'There's been progress – slower progress than most of us would like – but there are some real nuggets of optimism that fill me with absolute joy,' said Yvonne Harrison, the CEO of Women in Football. 'While the figures show that more people are reporting discrimination, it's still not enough. The fear factor of putting yourself forward is really, really significant still. The more that gender is talked about in workplace environments, the less tolerant women are to some of the things that they're subjected to.' In a sign that the sport is making steady progress towards gender-inclusiveness, the survey, which collated responses from 635 people over the course of a month this year, found that 89 per cent of women are optimistic about the prospects of women in the football industry – up from 62 per cent in 2016.){kind=link}
Despite the Lionesses’ victory at the Euros, reports of discrimination against women in football are on the rise
Discrimination towards women who work in football is at an all-time high, new research has found.
Findings from leading campaign group Women in Football’s largest-ever survey of women working and volunteering in the football industry show that although a greater proportion of them now feel accepted and encouraged in the workplace, they are still being subjected to widespread discrimination.
On the same day that England beat Denmark 1-0 at the Women’s World Cup, the group’s findings reveal that 82 per cent of women working in football have experienced discrimination, which includes sexism, sexual harassment and derogatory comments on ability based on gender. That is up from 66 per cent in 2020.
Sexism in the workplace has gone down from 65 per cent in 2020 but almost half (47 per cent) of women working in football have experienced it.