When we inspire others to understand and value women's inclusion, we forge a better world, and when women themselves are inspired to be included, there's a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.
- International Women’s Day 2024
The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2024 is “Inspire Inclusion” and two PGA Professionals that specialise in bringing more women into the game and ensuring diversity and inclusion at every turn are Nicola Bennett (Bush Hill Park Golf Club) and Hannah Crump (Stonebridge Golf Club).
Bennett was recently awarded England Golf’s Diversity and Inclusion Champion award and gave this advice for other PGA Professionals who want to do more to diversify their customer base:
“I would say be as hands on as possible. I don't push things overly through word of mouth or on the internet - I'm hands on - I go into nail shops, I go into churches, I go into shopping centres, I hand out leaflets and I have conversations with people.”
“You're not going to find a diverse community at a golf club because there's already such a big lack of, so you have to go into these areas where you'll find diverse people in order to make the game more inclusive. So be hands-on and just go into the places where you're going to find the people that we need to bring into the game.”
“I hold so much gratitude for being able to build a community, a platform and a safe emotional place for women to evolve, be the best versions of themselves and participate in a game that they never thought they’d be able to do. Historically we haven’t had that many women in the game and to be able to grow it in abundance is the best feeling.”
Crump works with a variety of women’s groups including women from the Muslim Golf Association, the Caribbean Golf Society and the LGBTIQ+ community, GIGS (Girls in Golf Society).
Crump gave her advice on how she ensures women from any background enjoy their golf experience:
“The only thing that anyone needs to know is that you're introducing golf. So to me, it doesn't matter what that woman looks like, what that woman believes in, what that woman wears, or what that woman is - at the end of the day, she is a woman and the thing that brings her here is golf.”
“What I'm learning is I'm just introducing that person to golf like I would anyone, so for me, I think the biggest learning curve that I had is that nothing changes - the way I introduce golf is the same. The way we have fun with golf is the same. It's a woman learning golf, which is what we need more of, let alone a woman that is of a smaller minority within the game.”
“I was overthinking things at the start, whereas actually this is a taster session for women. It doesn't matter if it was a woman in a hijab, if it was a woman in whatever clothing or of whatever belief. It's just a woman wanting to learn golf, and I think that is the thing that gets so overlooked.”
“My thoughts are I don't treat anyone differently, just like I wouldn't treat anyone differently in the outside world.”
For more about International Women’s Day visit https://www.internationalwomensday.com
