Women are being pushed out of coaching and leadership careers in sport by entrenched sexism, workplace bullying and discrimination, MPs have been told, with witnesses warning that hostile cultures are worsening and shrinking the pipeline of female coaches.
During the first evidence session of the Women and Equalities Committee’s new inquiry, *Beyond Participation: Routes into Sport for Girls and Women*, policy experts and coaches said women were routinely overlooked for senior roles, undermined in male-dominated workplaces and deterred from reporting mistreatment.
Witnesses said that was happening despite growing participation and visibility in women’s sport. They warned that unless coaching pathways change, gains on the field will not be matched by progress in leadership, leaving senior posts in sport largely in male hands.
Lisa West, head of policy at Women in Sport, told the committee: “These hostile environments are hideous for women trying to build a career in sports. It’s so bad that it’s unfair to put women in those environments.”
The committee heard that one in five female coaches reported experiencing harassment or bullying. Witnesses said many women still lacked confidence that complaints would be dealt with properly because policies were weak, reporting systems unclear and sanctions limited.
Lisa Williams, head coach of London All Stars women’s basketball team, said the issue was affecting both retention and representation. “Despite women having a very low confidence in reporting incidents – because there are no policies and no sanctions – we’ve seen an increase in reports from women about bad experiences,” she said.
Williams said excluding women from coaching roles had wider consequences for sport. “A coaching system that sidelines women risks depriving athletes of role models, narrowing the talent pool and reinforcing the message that, even in a rapidly changing sporting landscape, the most influential positions remain a male preserve,” she told MPs.
Figures presented to the committee suggested the problem is worsening. Emily Handyside, coaching lead at UK Coaching, said the number of women in coaching fell by 10% in grassroots sport between 2022 and 2024 and by 6% at elite level over the same period.
“We’re seeing the biggest declines among women aged 18 to 34,” Handyside said, identifying the sharpest losses in the age group regarded as critical to the future coaching pipeline.
Women currently hold about a quarter of coaching roles in UK Sport-funded programmes, according to evidence heard by MPs, and their representation is lower still in technical leadership and high-performance positions.
Hannah Dingley, girls’ head of academy at Manchester City Football Club, described what she said was a pattern of women being channelled into junior roles even when they were more qualified than male counterparts.
“I’ve found myself only offered jobs teaching the under-9s, despite being more qualified than many of the male coaches hired for the older age groups,” Dingley said. “The assumption was that I was too maternal, empathetic and soft to work at the top level of elite sport.”
India Perris-Redding, women’s talent identification manager at Sale Sharks Women, told the committee that unpublished research commissioned by Premiership Women’s Rugby and the Rugby Football Union found 76% of female coaches believed there was a gender performance gap in high-performance rugby.
“We don’t have a female head coach on any team, nor internationally for England,” she said.
The evidence adds to wider concerns that growth in women’s sport has not translated into equal access to coaching and senior leadership roles. Former Chelsea Women manager Emma Hayes has previously said that male privilege has long been at the centre of football in England, while England manager Sarina Wiegman has called for more women in senior positions across the game.
The committee’s inquiry is examining barriers facing girls and women in sport beyond participation, including progression into coaching, governance and elite performance roles. Further evidence sessions are expected as MPs consider whether governing bodies and publicly funded sports organisations are doing enough to prevent discrimination and improve pathways for women.