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| Jacqui Oatley: 'We need to give young girls the confidence to do this' | Jacqui Oatley: 'We need to give young girls the confidence to do this' |
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| Jacqui Oatley was five months pregnant when she got her first shift as a sports news presenter for the BBC. Days later, she received the first of many hand-delivered letters telling her a woman had no right to talk about football. | Jacqui Oatley was five months pregnant when she got her first shift as a sports news presenter for the BBC. Days later, she received the first of many hand-delivered letters telling her a woman had no right to talk about football. |
| “They just told me to watch myself,” she says of the letters, which she started to find once a week in her BBC pigeonhole. “That I should leave it to the men.” | “They just told me to watch myself,” she says of the letters, which she started to find once a week in her BBC pigeonhole. “That I should leave it to the men.” |
| Oatley, the first female commentator on BBC1’s Match of the Day in 2007 and now a regular sports presenter on both the BBC and ITV, never found out who had written the letters and the BBC redirected her mail. Ask about the impact of the abuse and she says: “I have worked incredibly hard ... I wasn’t going to let a couple of letters from somebody who wasn’t quite right put me off.” | Oatley, the first female commentator on BBC1’s Match of the Day in 2007 and now a regular sports presenter on both the BBC and ITV, never found out who had written the letters and the BBC redirected her mail. Ask about the impact of the abuse and she says: “I have worked incredibly hard ... I wasn’t going to let a couple of letters from somebody who wasn’t quite right put me off.” |
| Since her debut as a TV presenter at the end of 2010, Oatley has been a regular member of the BBC’s football team working for 5 Live and TV channels and last year she signed up to ITV to report on football and darts for them. | Since her debut as a TV presenter at the end of 2010, Oatley has been a regular member of the BBC’s football team working for 5 Live and TV channels and last year she signed up to ITV to report on football and darts for them. |
| Like many women in the public eye, especially in a male-dominated profession, Oatley receives a considerable amount of online abuse. “When they tell me to get back in the kitchen, I tell them to get back to 1936” she says. Earlier this year, when she was in France covering the European championships, she hit back at a Twitter user who suggested she should be “at home cooking tea rather than presenting football” by saying she was a “bit busy doing my dream job”. | Like many women in the public eye, especially in a male-dominated profession, Oatley receives a considerable amount of online abuse. “When they tell me to get back in the kitchen, I tell them to get back to 1936” she says. Earlier this year, when she was in France covering the European championships, she hit back at a Twitter user who suggested she should be “at home cooking tea rather than presenting football” by saying she was a “bit busy doing my dream job”. |
| Twice she had to go to the authorities: once when an aggrieved Arsène Wenger fan threatened to come to her house and “cut” her, among other “unmentionable” things; and a second time when she found a particularly foul tweet had been sent by a young referee who was still at school. | Twice she had to go to the authorities: once when an aggrieved Arsène Wenger fan threatened to come to her house and “cut” her, among other “unmentionable” things; and a second time when she found a particularly foul tweet had been sent by a young referee who was still at school. |
| “I decided that, instead of ignoring it, I’d write to his school and speak to someone in the refereeing department at the FA. I just wanted him to be made aware of his social media actions and how they could impact on his future career, rather than see him punished,” she says. “All I’d done was make a factual comment about Robin van Persie’s injury record at Arsenal.” | “I decided that, instead of ignoring it, I’d write to his school and speak to someone in the refereeing department at the FA. I just wanted him to be made aware of his social media actions and how they could impact on his future career, rather than see him punished,” she says. “All I’d done was make a factual comment about Robin van Persie’s injury record at Arsenal.” |
| The sixth-former said his Twitter account must have been hacked and apologised, while the police tracked down the sender of the most abusive tweets to a particular household but couldn’t be sure which household member it was. | The sixth-former said his Twitter account must have been hacked and apologised, while the police tracked down the sender of the most abusive tweets to a particular household but couldn’t be sure which household member it was. |
| Oatley is keen not to focus on this aspect of her “dream job”. In an email after the interview, she writes: “Really keen that young girls focus on the positive aspects of the job and back themselves to succeed.” | Oatley is keen not to focus on this aspect of her “dream job”. In an email after the interview, she writes: “Really keen that young girls focus on the positive aspects of the job and back themselves to succeed.” |
| Her efforts to champion the role of women working in football as well as women’s football led to an MBE in the last New Year’s honours list. We talk during Women’s Sport Week, which ends on Sunday and aims to showcase the issue and get more women and girls playing sport. | Her efforts to champion the role of women working in football as well as women’s football led to an MBE in the last New Year’s honours list. We talk during Women’s Sport Week, which ends on Sunday and aims to showcase the issue and get more women and girls playing sport. |
| A host of statistics underline the gender gap in sport, from the fact that 1.9 million fewer women than men participate in sport on a regular basis to the relative lack of women’s sports coverage to the dearth of female sports reporters in the media. Despite the great success of Olympians such as Laura Trott, evidence from the Women’s Sports and Fitness Foundation suggests that only 5% of total sports coverage relates to women, while a report by City University found that as little as 3% of the bylines in the pages of the UK’s national newspapers are female. | A host of statistics underline the gender gap in sport, from the fact that 1.9 million fewer women than men participate in sport on a regular basis to the relative lack of women’s sports coverage to the dearth of female sports reporters in the media. Despite the great success of Olympians such as Laura Trott, evidence from the Women’s Sports and Fitness Foundation suggests that only 5% of total sports coverage relates to women, while a report by City University found that as little as 3% of the bylines in the pages of the UK’s national newspapers are female. |
| “Things have improved since 2012,” says Oatley, extolling the virtues of many well-known names such as Clare Balding, Gabby Logan, Eleanor Oldroyd and Hazel Irvine. “There are a lot more women now in sports presenting,” she says. “The stigma has pretty much disappeared.” | “Things have improved since 2012,” says Oatley, extolling the virtues of many well-known names such as Clare Balding, Gabby Logan, Eleanor Oldroyd and Hazel Irvine. “There are a lot more women now in sports presenting,” she says. “The stigma has pretty much disappeared.” |
| We really, really need to work on this to give young girls the confidence that they can do this | We really, really need to work on this to give young girls the confidence that they can do this |
| The BBC in particular has made huge strides and estimates that in 2015 women’s sport made up about 28% of its total sports output on TV or its red button service. Last year’s Women’s World Cup in particular was a success, with more than one in five of the UK population, or 12.6 million people, watching, double the figure from the previous two international tournaments. | The BBC in particular has made huge strides and estimates that in 2015 women’s sport made up about 28% of its total sports output on TV or its red button service. Last year’s Women’s World Cup in particular was a success, with more than one in five of the UK population, or 12.6 million people, watching, double the figure from the previous two international tournaments. |
| Men still overwhelmingly dominate press coverage, however, with not one regular newspaper column on the women’s game and only a handful of female reporters. Coverage tends to be better in sports where “journalists are there already” such as tennis and athletics while women’s football, for example, suffers. | Men still overwhelmingly dominate press coverage, however, with not one regular newspaper column on the women’s game and only a handful of female reporters. Coverage tends to be better in sports where “journalists are there already” such as tennis and athletics while women’s football, for example, suffers. |
| Oatley is keen not to be overly critical, saying: “This is not a moanathon.” Instead, she says the industry needs to “see what can be done” to meet demand. | Oatley is keen not to be overly critical, saying: “This is not a moanathon.” Instead, she says the industry needs to “see what can be done” to meet demand. |
| She also recognises that the vagaries and lack of investment in the women’s sport itself do not help. Unlike the men’s game, women’s teams suffer from varied fixture schedules and lack of support. | She also recognises that the vagaries and lack of investment in the women’s sport itself do not help. Unlike the men’s game, women’s teams suffer from varied fixture schedules and lack of support. |
| “Given all the women’s football league matches and the fact that it’s the most popular sport for women, then something’s not quite right,” says Oatley. | “Given all the women’s football league matches and the fact that it’s the most popular sport for women, then something’s not quite right,” says Oatley. |
| Involved in campaign and network group Women in Football, Oatley says younger women must be encouraged more. “I’ve done countless interviews with students whose Twitter profiles switch from ‘aspiring sports journalist’ at the time of the interview, to something totally unrelated to the industry a couple of years later. We’re trying to stop those young women from falling by the wayside and instil a belief in them that if they’re determined enough there is a future for them in this industry.” | Involved in campaign and network group Women in Football, Oatley says younger women must be encouraged more. “I’ve done countless interviews with students whose Twitter profiles switch from ‘aspiring sports journalist’ at the time of the interview, to something totally unrelated to the industry a couple of years later. We’re trying to stop those young women from falling by the wayside and instil a belief in them that if they’re determined enough there is a future for them in this industry.” |
| Oatley’s own career is nothing if not determined. Aged 25, it was an injury while playing football – she dislocated her knee and spent 10 months in crutches – that prompted her to give up her job as an intellectual property account manager and train as a journalist. She slept on friends’ floors and did unpaid work experience on local radio for some time before landing a job on BBC Radio Leeds. | |
| She describes her first gig as a commentator – as a last-minute stand-in during a Wakefield v Worksop game – as “still the hardest I’ve ever had to commentate on”. Without much time to prepare and peering out from a dugout, she struggled to tell which of the many players were which. | She describes her first gig as a commentator – as a last-minute stand-in during a Wakefield v Worksop game – as “still the hardest I’ve ever had to commentate on”. Without much time to prepare and peering out from a dugout, she struggled to tell which of the many players were which. |
| It was “character building” and made her determined to carry on. “The Premier League, with seats above ground, was a piece of cake after that.” | It was “character building” and made her determined to carry on. “The Premier League, with seats above ground, was a piece of cake after that.” |
| Her comments about football managers or players attract far more abuse than darts, which came as a surprise. “I expected all sorts of rubbish but it never came,” she says. | Her comments about football managers or players attract far more abuse than darts, which came as a surprise. “I expected all sorts of rubbish but it never came,” she says. |
| She is loath to suggest that increasing the number of women in governance positions in football would help to avoid the sort of corruption scandals it has been mired in but says diplomatically: “It makes sense that younger people coming through give a fresh outlook and not one ingrained in the industry.” | She is loath to suggest that increasing the number of women in governance positions in football would help to avoid the sort of corruption scandals it has been mired in but says diplomatically: “It makes sense that younger people coming through give a fresh outlook and not one ingrained in the industry.” |
| “We really, really need to work on this to give young girls the confidence that they can do this, but it will take a lot of guts and steel,” she says on her way to reporting on the Italy v Spain World Cup qualifier. | “We really, really need to work on this to give young girls the confidence that they can do this, but it will take a lot of guts and steel,” she says on her way to reporting on the Italy v Spain World Cup qualifier. |
| “Ideally, in 10 years’ time we won’t have Women’s Sports Week and the results will just be incorporated into other coverage. But of course Rome wasn’t built in a day.” | “Ideally, in 10 years’ time we won’t have Women’s Sports Week and the results will just be incorporated into other coverage. But of course Rome wasn’t built in a day.” |