Breaking the glass ceiling of sports administration
Therese Walsh, who is leading New Zealand's operations for the 2015 World Cup, talks to Stuff.co.nz, about her accidentally entry into sports administration and the challenges she faced on the way
ESPNcricinfo staff
11-May-2014
Therese Walsh, who is leading New Zealand's operations for the 2015 World Cup, talks to Stuff.co.nz, about her accidentally entry into sports administration and the challenges she faced at the beginning. Walsh admitted that she had been mistaken for a secretary on a few trips abroad and said she had faced the little practicalities of "fitting in" in a male-dominated area.
The first few months as a woman in what is often a man's world were not difficult but not a walk in the park, either.
"At the beginning there were some challenges in getting used to it. There were big things like not necessarily talking the same language - men follow sport more closely so it was just trying to figure out how to fit in."
It also boiled down to little practicalities like the expectation that the management and board of sporting organisations will wear ties.
"That doesn't work for a woman. So what do you do for a woman?"