13 May Tennis Ireland launches “Equal Advantage” Gender Equality Strategy
Tennis Ireland launches Gender Equality Strategy “Equal Advantage”.
The Tennis Ireland strategy, which is being delivered in tandem with the ITF’s Advantage All Programme and Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport Programme highlights the following five key themes aimed at improving gender equality in all areas of the game to ensure tennis is a leading light for sport both on and off the field:
- Inspire – Inspire women to be leaders in tennis.
- Opportunity – Provide equal opportunity in the sport of tennis.
- Environment – Create an inclusive Environment.
- Value – Increase exposure, opportunities and coverage for Women’s Tennis.
- One Voice – Promoting women who are involved in tennis both on and off the court.
Within each of the themes there are several actions that will be delivered as part of the strategy.
One of the actions launched today is the Equal Advantage Charter to inspire a sport wide commitment to developing a more inclusive culture in all areas within tennis. The objective of this initiative is to enable more women and girls to flourish and maximise their potential at all levels of the sport. The adoption of the Charter requires clubs to build on national plans, and also develop their own local initiatives to encourage more women and girls to play and stay within the sport as members of clubs, while also empowering women to enjoy successful careers working within the tennis sector either voluntarily or professionally.
Speaking about the strategy, Tennis Ireland Chief Executive, Richard Fahey said, “Following on from the appointment of Grainne O’Neill to lead this area, we are delighted to launch our Equal Advantage Strategy today. While our membership base is equally diverse in terms of playing our sport, we are aware that women are less involved in coaching and leadership roles. We are tackling these issues head on via the delivery of our strategy and with the support of the ITF and Sport Ireland”.
Tennis Ireland Women in Tennis Co-Ordinator, Grainne O’Neill added, “We are encouraging all clubs to sign-up to the Charter via the registration form and share our promotional video over their social media channels to raise awareness and promote gender equality in our sport. The initiatives delivered by our clubs will add a multiplier effect to the work that Tennis Ireland and its Branches will deliver over the coming years in this area”.
Step by Step Guide:
- Read the Strategy here.
- Read the Equal Advantage Charter here.
- Register your club for the Equal Advantage Charter here to commit to gender equality in your club.
- Once registered, submit your actions via a follow-up link from Tennis Ireland, having discussed as a committee what actions to take.
- Receive a framed copy of the clubs submitted actions to display in your club.