Today we celebrate International Women's Day, a day that is devoted to recognising the accomplishments of women and spreading awareness of gender inequality and women's rights.

The Foundation is blessed with some amazing women.

 We asked one of our Trustees, Bev Ward, why it’s important to celebrating the achievements of women?

"It's important to me to support women to develop and achieve their potential, whether that's in business or in sport - on or off the court. Women need to be visible role models to others and to be allies - we can lift each other up and inspire others to reach their potential. I love mentoring two fantastic women in sport and supporting my peers to achieve their goals."

"We're proud to have a fantastic female cohort on the Volleyball England Foundation Board who support each other and volunteer their skills and expertise to create positive impact on communities through volleyball."

Another of our Trustees is Joelle Watkins. Joelle is employed as part of the team at Baseball/Softball UK.

We asked Joelle why she chose to join the Volleyball England Foundation?

"I don't mind admitting that I'm volunteering with the VEF for slightly selfish reasons: I'm surrounded by whip-smart, forward thinking female leaders and together we're all working towards a unified purpose: to create greater inclusivity, accessibility and sustainability through grassroots team sports. Of course we're doing this in partnership with male allies. 

I'd encourage women to park any thoughts of self-doubt or perhaps even imposter syndrome and consider donating their experience and enthusiasm to a similar worthwhile cause. Get in touch with any of us if you're keen to find out more."     

The Foundation is fortunate to have an amazing woman who leads the organisation, Simone Turner. Simone is an ex New Zealand National Volleyball Player. She joined the Foundation in 2019 and guided the team through and out of lockdown. She told us "We are a very fortunate to have an extraordinary group of women as part of the Foundation team. They are extremely driven and focused to achieving our goals while staying sincere, kind and compassionate, I’m so proud to be part of this team.”

We asked another of our Trustees, Manni Sehmbi -

Why is it important to see women in roles of responsibility, such as the Foundation Board?

Manni explained that “Better representation of female leaders in roles of responsibility will spur much needed change when it comes to broader societal impacts such as pay equity, policies that benefit both men and women and attracting a more diverse workforce in the future.

I am incredibly proud to be working alongside a number of talented women at the Volleyball England Foundation who are making valuable contributions to the Foundation’s mission and paving the way for the next generation of young women in sport. “

We asked Manni - As role models, what do we want young women to see they can achieve?

“I am a firm believer that seeing is believing. Quite simply put, female role models inspire young women to think bigger! I am grateful to have this platform to ensure that all young women can see the value sport can bring to society and can view sport as a viable career path in their future, whether that is on the court, the sidelines or in the boardroom.” said Manni.

Throughout Volleyball we are so fortunate to have so many amazing women that work as Coaches, Referees and Volunteers. There are too many of you to mention, but you all know who you are, and we want to thank you all for your hard work and dedication to this sport that we are all passionate about.