Each year International Women's Day (8th March) is celebrated across the world to mark the achievements of women as well as to raise awareness of ongoing gender inequalities. Bangor University, in collaboration with Cymru Women’s Sport, is joining the 2025 celebrations with an exciting event looking at Women Leaders in Sport.
The event will be led by Laura McAllister, a Professor of Public Policy and the Governance of Wales at Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre. She specializes on devolution, Welsh politics and elections, gender representation and the feminisation of politics. Professor McAllister is a prolific author, commentator and keynote speaker. She has served on several significant panels and boards, including the Assembly Remuneration Board (2014-15), Independent Panel on AMs Pay and Support (2008-09), the Richard Commission on the Powers and Electoral Arrangements for the National Assembly for Wales (2002-04). She has also chaired the Expert group on Local Government Diversity (2013-14); the Assembly’s Expert Panel on Electoral Reform (2017); and co-chaired the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales (2021-24). In her role as UEFA Vice-President and elected member of its Executive Committee, Professor McAllister chairs the UEFA Social and Environmental Sustainability Committee, serves as Deputy Chair of UEFA’s Women’s Football Committee, and chairs the Euro 24, and Euro 25 Human Rights Boards. A former Wales football international and national team captain with 24 caps, Professor McAllister chaired Sport Wales from 2010-16. She was also a Board Member of UK Sport, the Government’s agency for Olympic and Paralympic sport, and served as Director of the Football Association of Wales Trust and Chair of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame. Professor McAllister is a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and the Royal Society of the Arts. She was inducted as a member of Gorsedd y Beirdd, Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru, Boduan, August 2023. Awarded CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2016, Professor McAllister holds Honorary degrees and Fellowships from several universities, including Bangor, Cardiff, Cardiff Metropolitan, South Wales, Swansea, University of Wales Trinity St. David’s and Bridgend College.
Laura will be joined by a diverse panel of women from a range of sports and careers:
Kate Hannon - Cymru Women’s Sport Board member and Director of Fearless Women. Kate has worked in sport marketing and sports PR for 15 years. Kate is a former trustee of the Women’s Sport Trust, and co-founder of the Women’s Sport Collective, and is passionate about creating parity in society, particularly in the world of women’s sport. As a qualified engineer, Kate started her career with telecommunications companies including Ericsson, Bell South, France Telecom and British Telecom. She’s a natural problem solver and thrives on getting things done.
Hannah Powell - Commonwealth Games Athlete, Weightlifting Coach, and Business Support Officer at Weightlifting Wales. Former GB and Welsh Weightlifter based in North Wales. Hannah has been involved in Weightlifting since 2004, and has been part of GB youth/junior/senior teams, as well as having competed at two Commonwealth Games for Wales. Hannah also worked as a Business Support Officer for Weightlifting Wales for 7 years, as well as having coached lifters for Wales at various competition levels, and more recently coached a Women's Weightlifting class at her club in Holyhead (Hawfc).
Tricia Sterling - Tricia started her career in Secondary Education after qualifying as a Physical Education and Science Teacher. She volunteered as a coach for Deeside Hockey Club and led the Cheshire School Girls Hockey U16s. After moving to the USA, she became Head Coach of Field Hockey at Slippery Rock University and led the Olympic Futures program in Pennsylvania. Returning to the UK in 2002, she became a Senior Lecturer in Physical Education and Coaching and later led Physical Education Teacher Training at Liverpool John Moore’s University. She also coached junior netball at Chester Netball Club. In 2015, Tricia became an Associate Professor and Head of Teacher Training at Chester University, leading teams to national finals. She was involved with Manchester Thunder's junior team. In 2021, she was appointed Executive Dean at Birmingham Newman University and coached Warwick University and Deeside Premier League teams. Tricia was appointed Head of School of Education at Bangor University in 2024 and is currently Head Coach of Wales U15 Netball National Academy and Powys Sparks who compete in the Wales National Senior League. She also leads the Northeast Wales Netball Regional Academy and coaches Kingsway Power Senior Squad.
Sophie Harrison is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science within the School of Psychology and Sport Science at Bangor University. Sophie recently founded the Women’s Health and Performance Knowledge Exchange group that brings together researchers across the School of Psychology and Sport Science with the aim of supporting girls, women and people assigned female at birth through research and knowledge exchange. Sophie is passionate about closing the gender data gap in sport science and her research interests are focussed around supporting female athletes, in particular through studying the influence of the menstrual cycle in sport and exercise, and by trying to reduce burden created by menstrual cycle related symptoms in daily life and when taking part in sport and exercise.
The panel will reflect on the progress that has been made towards gender equality in Sport, the journeys and challenges that still lay ahead and the critical role that women leaders play in this.
All are welcome to this free event. There will also be an opportunity to network and connect on how we can enhance Women's Sport in Wales.
Panel
