LONDON: The World Rugby has announced that its ambitious ‘Global Development of Women in Rugby 2017-2025’ plan has already bore fruit within 18 months of its execution on and off the field. With 9.6 million players recorded globally, latest player figures shows that women account for 2.7 million of them in World Rugby member unions, a 10% increase vis-à-vis 2017.
2018 also saw an increased engagement with women’s audiences across World Rugby digital platforms in 2018. The governing body recorded an increase of 37% in video views from women’s audiences when compared to 2017. The World Rugby and Rugby World Cup Twitter channels have a female audience base of over 30% for the first time ever.
In terms of governance, World Rugby implemented a transformational reform which saw the introduction of an additional 17 female positions targeted on increasing diversity of World Rugby Council.
The appointment of ten global leadership development scholarships was seen, which aims to maximize the rugby leadership potential of talented women working in the game. World Rugby also conducted leadership forums in Botswana, Madrid and Bangkok in partnership with Rugby Asia, Europe and Africa all aimed at providing strategic direction to regional growth for women’s rugby.
An International Competition Calendar Review was introduced for the first time while a High-Performance Coaching Review was completed amongst 22 member unions, which put forward a set of recommendations to increase opportunities for female coaches at the top level and solve player burnout issues.
World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “We have seen phenomenal strides made in year one of the implementation of the women’s action plan. We are wholly committed to driving gender-balance and ensuring that women have equal opportunities in all areas of the game, the recent and successful reform of Council with the introduction of 17 female representatives is testament to that commitment. “As we move into year two, we are looking forward to working with our member unions and regional associations as we continue to implement and deliver on our strategic plan in fast-tracking the development of women in rugby.”
World Rugby general manager Katie Sadleir added: “It’s been a busy and exciting year one implementing the women’s action plan. We have made important steps forward across the game, working collaboratively with our member unions and regional associations to drive the development opportunities for women in rugby both on and off the pitch and also in increasing engagement with female audiences. “While we are moving in the right direction, we are determined to continue to push forward in delivering on our strategic objectives which will ultimately benefit the sport and put World Rugby at the fore as a global leader in sport as a game for all.”
World Rugby Women’s Advisory Committee chairman Serge Simon stated: “We are pleased with the progress that has been made across all the five work streams outlined in the women’s development strategic plan. The results and outcomes are fantastic, surpassing our expectations. We are looking forward to implementing year two.”
