International Women's Day

Proud and present - Ruth Holdaway

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Proud and present - Ruth Holdaway

To mark International Women's Day, London FA is celebrating the fantastic contribution our female workforce is making to football in the Capital. Read our Q&A sessions with a small sample of our fabulous females holding a variety of roles in football.

Tell us about your role(s) in football

I am an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of the London FA.  This means I am required to scrutinise the work and spending of the organisation to ensure it is meeting its strategic objectives and delivering its promise to Londoners and funders. In my day job I am CEO of Women in Sport, a charity that campaigns for more women and girls to have access to sport and for more women working in the sport sector. I have a depth of knowledge, therefore, about how to create opportunities that are attractive to, and engage with, women and girls and I bring this knowledge to the London FA, along with my communications background.  I’m also an Owls Fan – which is obviously my most important role in football.

What does a typical week look like for you?

There is no typical week – which is what I love about my job. This week, as an example, includes a meeting with my full team, planning an International Women’s Day campaign and an event to launch some new research we have recently completed, interviewing for a new Communications Manager, reviewing our fundraising progress, a Board meeting, a meeting with the Sports Minister and a day off to spend time with an old school friend. Next week will be completely different!

Who are/were your most important female role models?

Like many people, the most important female role models for me are the women closest to me in my life – my Mum, my Granny, my Aunties, my Sisters-in-Law, my nieces and my wonderful friends…. I think Judy Murray and Michelle Obama are pretty cool too!

Tell us one thing still on your bucket list

Truthfully, I don’t have a bucket list – I honestly try to just live one day at a time, be present and enjoy the many and varied experiences life throws at me. I try not to have too many expectations or long lists of things to do – relationships are far more important to me than ticking things off a bucket list.

Where is your go to place to get away from it all?

Hillsborough, of course!

What has been your proudest moment in the last 1-5 years?

Hard to pick one, and watching my nieces develop into fabulous amazing young girls makes me most proud. Professionally it’d probably have to be the exceptional work of my team to campaign for every sport organisation to have a minimum of 30% women on their board, and see this become part of the new Code of Sport’s Governance. I’m proud of this achievement and proud to be one of the women sitting on the Board of the London FA.