Almost four in five women working in football have experienced discrimination in the last 12 months, a new report has found.
Women In Football’s latest industry workforce survey has highlighted the reality facing females in the sport, with WIF chief executive Yvonne Harrison describing the headline data as “bleak”.
Seventy-eight per cent of the 759 women surveyed experienced discrimination in the past year, while more than half of women reported experiencing sexism or misogyny.
The survey found 63.5 per cent of women experienced sexist banter or jokes, and more than 56 per cent said no action was taken when they reported gender-based discrimination in the workplace.
Eighty-six per cent of women working in football believe women have to work harder than men to achieve the same recognition and benefits. Sixty-nine per cent of the 100 men who also participated in the survey agreed with them.
Harrison said: “The headline data from the 2025 survey remains relatively static, and in many areas, bleak.
“They are not just numbers: they are the lived experiences of people working in the game, and they deserve better. If the industry is to change, we need to recognise these hard truths.
“We can safely assume that the real levels of discrimination are even higher, with a third of female respondents stating they had not reported incidents due to a lack of faith and trust in workforce processes, or for a fear of retribution.
“We cannot keep relying on the resilience of women. We need women to be supported, valued, and recognised. These are not questions of cost. It is a question of culture, and a commitment to ensuring psychological safety.
“WIF remains steadfast in its belief that a more diverse workforce is a better workforce which the whole game benefits from. We are determined to continue working with our industry partners across the myriad topics highlighted by our survey to support more organisations to move towards becoming truly gender-inclusive employers.
“With women’s voices informing solutions, and men being an active part of the conversation, demonstrating true allyship in action.”
Spurs stand with Naz over ‘disgusting’ social media abuse
Tottenham have released a statement supporting Jessica Naz following the “disgusting” abuse the forward received on social media during their League Cup draw with Aston Villa.
Naz was one of two Spurs players taken off at half-time of the tie at Brisbane Road, and while the second half was progressing revealed she had been the subject of racial abuse while on the field.
“I was going to wait until after the game to speak because I’m done being quiet,” she wrote. “Racism in any form is unacceptable and it’s important to address this behaviour and ensure steps are taken to prevent it from happening again.”
Spurs moved quickly to support their player after the game, releasing their own statement which read: “The club is disgusted by the racist abuse received by Jessica Naz via social media.
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“Jess has spoken out against this disgraceful behaviour – and we stand by her in calling out this unacceptable and cowardly act.
“We are working with the appropriate authorities and social media platforms to identify the responsible party, and we will be taking the strongest action against them.
“There is no place for racism in our sport or anywhere in society. We stand with Jess.”
