Today is marked as International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia (IDAHoBIT). This date was specifically chosen worldwide to commemorate the World Health Organisation’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. More
One of the first stars of English women’s football is to be immortalised with a life-sized statue.
The sculpture of Lily Parr, who played professionally in the 1920s, will be unveiled at the National Football Museum in Manchester in June.
Parr, who died in 1978 aged 73, was the first woman to feature in the museum’s Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
A spokeswoman for the Football Association said: “She deserves recognition as a true pioneer.”
She added: “It’s only fitting that she takes her place alongside other football legends and becomes the first woman to be celebrated with a statue in her honour.” More
Deaf Awareness Week takes place between 6 and 12 May and with this in mind we have chosen Mat Gilbert as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.
Mat is a professional rugby union player currently playing for Hartpury College RFC. Mat joined Hartpury from Worcester Warriors, having also played for Bath Rugby, the Scarlets and Modigliano (Italy).
Apart from being an experienced player, Mat is unusual in that he has achieved all of this despite being severely deaf – he has played for the England Deaf team on numerous occasions and is tireless in his efforts to encourage more opportunities for deaf children to get involved in the sport.
Mat is a long-serving ambassador for the charity Action for Hearing Loss. He supports many fundraising events across the UK and has been the guest speaker at the charity’s annual Christmas Carol Concert.
To find out more about Deaf Awareness Week see here
To find out more about Action for Hearing Loss
A leading figure in the British disability movement, Mike Oliver, who has died aged 74, bridged its activist and academic wings and popularised the concept of the social model of disability. He went on to become Britain’s first professor of disability studies. More
Barclays is to become the Women’s Super League first ever title sponsor, in a deal the Football Association has called “the biggest ever investment in UK women’s sport by a brand”.
The three-year partnership, understood to be worth in excess of £10m, will start from next season.
The competition will be rebranded the Barclays FA Women’s Super League and include a prize-money pot of £500,000.
Previously, WSL winners have not been awarded any official prize money.
“It’s a real landmark moment in the development of the women’s game,” the FA’s director of the women’s professional game Kelly Simmons told BBC Sport.
“We obviously want to get more fans and more revenue behind the game, making sure it’s secure and sustainable for the future.
“But also the investment in schools makes sure lots of girls get the chance to play football, which is our pipeline for the future.” More
When Uncharted: The Lost Legacy was released this year, it gained a lot of attention – not because it is the latest instalment for a popular franchise, it stood out for another reason.
The game was set in India, had two lead women, and one of them, Nadine Ross, is a black South African.
Other big releases this year include Assassins Creed Origins, which is set in Egypt with an African protagonist, while Star Wars Battlefront II used the likeness and voice of Janina Gavankar, an actress with part-Indian heritage.
But speaking to BBC Asian Network, Jo Twist, chief executive for Ukie, the trading body for the UK’s games industry, said there was still a long way to go before video games could be truly representative of the gaming audience. More
Meryl Streep has said sexual harassment wouldn’t have been tolerated in Hollywood if there were more women on the boards of entertainment companies.
The star is getting together with other well-known actresses to demand equal representation in boardrooms.
She said balanced boards wouldn’t have approved pay-offs like those given to some of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers.
“If the boards of the company were half female, there wouldn’t ever have been pay-offs to anybody,” Streep said. More
The Church of England has appointed its first black female bishop.
The Rev Dr Rose Hudson-Wilkin, chaplain to the speaker of the House of Commons, has been named as the new Bishop of Dover.
Dr Hudson-Wilkin, who was born in Jamaica, said she aimed to ensure that “hope, love and justice remains at the heart of our changed lives together”.
The Archbishop of Canterbury said he was “absolutely delighted” by her appointment.
The Most Rev Justin Welby said she was “one of the most influential and effective ministers… through her long service as Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons”.
Dr Hudson-Wilkin, who is also a chaplain to the Queen, led prayers at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018. More
Former Charlton and Huddersfield boss Chris Powell has joined England manager Gareth Southgate’s coaching staff.
The move is part of a Football Association programme designed to “solve the challenge of under-representation” of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) coaches.
Michael Johnson, who guided Guyana to their first Gold Cup this summer, will team up with the England Under-21s.
There are only five BAME managers in English football’s top four divisions.
Former left-back Powell was capped five times by England during his playing career. He has also managed Southend United and had caretaker spells in charge of Leicester and Derby.
The FA has also announced that Jason Euell, Marcus Bignot, Omer Riza and Matthew Thorpe will work with other age-group sides.