The Antidote to Sexism with Karen Dobres, former director of Lewes FC

<p>Karen Dobres never liked football - until she realised it could change the world. </p><p>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”.</p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p><em>"I saw these young women playing football... they were strong, taking up space, using their voice. This is the antidote to all this sexism,"</em> Karen explains in the episode and in her book <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/pitch-invasion-my-story-as-a-feminist-on-a-football-club-board-karen-dobres/201219d48b582b59?ean=9781788405881&amp;next=t" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pitch Invasion</a>, which offers a practical blueprint for challenging gender inequality in male-dominated spaces.</p><p>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.</p><p>Just a heads up: this episode contains occasional strong language.</p><p><br /></p><p><strong>Links:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-dobres-07a54b176/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-dobres-07a54b176/</a></p></li><li><p>Follow Karen on Instagram: @karendobres</p></li><li><p><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/pitch-invasion-my-story-as-a-feminist-on-a-football-club-board-karen-dobres/201219d48b582b59?ean=9781788405881&amp;next=t" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read her book</a></p></li><li><p>Find out more about Lewes FC:<strong> </strong><a href="http://www.lewesfc.com" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.lewesfc.com</a></p><p><br /></p></li></ul><p><strong>Enjoyed this conversation?</strong></p><p>Subscribe to <em>Leading Lights</em> to catch the next episode, and please consider rating and reviewing to help others find the podcast.</p><p>Are you a Head of Brand, Marketing, Fundraising or Comms at a charity? Come along to the <a href="https://morever.co.uk/morever-meetups/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>MOREVER Meetup</strong></a> – an informal space to share ideas and connect with other women doing creative work in the charity sector.</p><p><em>Leading Lights is brought to you by MOREVER – an independent creative agency for charities and changemakers.</em><a href="http://www.morever.co.uk" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.morever.co.uk</a></p><p><br /></p>