Albion become Women In Football's first corporate member

Today, Women in Football launch the WIF Corporate Membership programme to drive forward gender diversity and make 'change from within' across the football industry – from clubs and governing bodies to media and sponsors. 

The business data for gender equality and inclusivity is compelling - productivity, profitability and employee culture all improve inside organisations where there is a commitment to diversity. 

The new WIF Corporate Membership offer will provide members like Brighton & Hove Albion with access to a unique range of top-level services ranging from assessment of organisation culture to fostering inclusive team dynamics, as well as support to the female workforce with group coaching, leadership courses and mentoring, all designed to support member organisations towards becoming fully gender inclusive.

"We are thrilled to welcome Brighton & Hove Albion as our first official Corporate Member," said Jane Purdon, CEO of Women in Football. 

"Brighton have set the benchmark and are at the forefront of their commitment to gender diversity, both within its immediate local community and beyond, and again with us at Women in Football.

"As a club they have supported our #WhatIf campaign, and in doing so increased their funding of the women's and girls' teams. They have also showcased the fantastic work done by women at the club across its communications channels.

"By becoming our first Corporate Member, Brighton's commitment to our work and gender diversity is clear. We look forward to sharing our unique experiences and knowledge with them to drive change so that the football industry is truly inclusive for all."

Rose Read, Head of People and Culture at the club added, "We are thrilled to be furthering our support for Women in Football. They are consistently breaking down barriers and providing a voice for women who want to pursue or who are pursuing a career in football, on or off the pitch.

"The work and vision of WIF complements our commitment to increase the number of women involved here at Brighton & Hove Albion, be that as fans, employees, corporate sponsors or participants in our community programmes; and to identify, understand and remove any barriers to female inclusion and progression.   

"It makes sense for us to tap into their excellent network and work collaboratively to ensure women have every opportunity to be heard, to develop their careers and to be included in every sense of the word.  

"They are a tremendous organisation, with some outstanding talent in all areas of the game: players, coaches, administrators, writers, presenters, pundits and much more.

"That is a talent pool, which not so long ago would likely to have been overlooked based purely on gender. Women in Football are helping drive real change and working hard to encourage women to follow their dreams of working in the football industry.

"That is brilliant for football, and it is something we at Brighton & Hove Albion are delighted to be in a position to support as WIF's first-ever Corporate Member. We hope it will encourage more clubs to sign up, and continue to help tackle gender inequality in sport."

To find out more about the benefits of becoming a Women in Football Corporate Member, please email info@womeninfootball.co.uk.