Karen Dobres never liked football - until she realised it could change the world.
When she went along with her husband to watch a game at Lewes FC, the local club, Karen discovered that women had been banned from football for 50 years (from 1921-1971) and were still paid 10 times less than male players. No wonder football was thought of as “a man’s game”.
This revelation transformed her into an unlikely activist. She set about to change things, and bring women into the game at Lewes FC. First as a volunteer, then by becoming a director of the club. She was part of the team that made Lewes FC the world's first pro/semi-pro club to equally resource men and women, attracting owners from over 40 countries.
By making female friendly adaptations to the match day experience, bringing in women’s chanting workshops, suffragette-style flash mobs, and launching the "Call Him Out" campaign, she proved football could combat toxic masculinity and empower women.
"I saw these young women playing football... they were strong, taking up space, using their voice. This is the antidote to all this sexism," Karen explains in the episode and in her book Pitch Invasion, which offers a practical blueprint for challenging gender inequality in male-dominated spaces.
If you’re interested in understanding the steps it takes to build a community, change attitudes and bring about change for a fairer world, this is the episode for you.
Just a heads up: this episode contains occasional strong language.
Links:
Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-dobres-07a54b176/
Follow Karen on Instagram: @karendobres
Find out more about Lewes FC: www.lewesfc.com
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