Working in mainly male-dominated environments: tv, sport, golf meant that I was always keen on female empowerment, leadership and on women having some equality. So Reach was all about creating this community of like-minded females, all about coming together and supporting and empowering each other across different sectors and tackle some of the issues women face in the workplace today. The thinking was very much, how can we all strive to help each other to become better and positively look at some of the challenges and try to change them for the better, collectively? We started with events linked to the Women’s British Open in the summer and then created this really strong community, which has been a real positive.
It’s really about working together to allow women to achieve what they want to achieve by supporting each other. It’s not about the cliché of a ‘sisterhood movement’ to climb a career ladder in a male dominated workplace, but more about the safety, empathy and understanding of other women with similar experiences. It also helps with things like confidence, mindset or attitude that can help women to grow within that network. So really it’s about working together to achieve more.
They absolutely do need to be part of this! We did not set out for Reach to be our own little feminist movement to solve these issues in isolation. It’s not about that at all. We are simply looking to enable the women and girls in our networks to be more confident and stronger individually so we can all be better and stronger collectively as a group, men and women. When we worked in the golf sector, we recognised that there is a pay gap and actively involved men in this debate to find out why that is. There are also issues with diversity. And so we all need to work together for the better of the sport, society and future careers.
Grace Jeffries (L) with Sarah Stirk (R)
It’s a natural conclusion that we use this amazing collection of successful women, who all help each other, to inspire the next generation. It’s tough being a young girl right now. There are lots of issues, lots of challenges and if we can use the strength of our network to help them in life and in their career choices then that’s a very positive step.
The summit was not just about hammering home business or career advice at that age, because they are still quite young. It was more about having some chats and talks about a diverse range of subjects to inspire them to be themselves and the girls walked away from these events, both in London and Manchester, more confident and energised. Grace, who’s just turned 12, is my co-host and did all of these podcasts with senior women in our network. She also did a podcast with me and I could not believe how smart she is at this young age. It’s scary. She’s just brilliant and it was great for the other girls to see one of their own completely relating to them. The fresh approach she takes to ask senior female leaders for advice about her own life choices is really empowering and inspiring.
I was always passionate about sport, so it was an easy career choice. My first passion was tennis and I went to study in Texas on a scholarship. When I could no longer play tennis, due to a serious shoulder injury, I knew that the next best thing was to have a front row seat in the media to cover sporting events as a journalist. Thankfully, I knew that quite early on and my injury was a helpful lesson in resilience. The world I’m now in is very competitive, quite cutthroat and you need to be committed and driven to succeed. That’s one of the lessons, I’d pass on to young boys and girls: try to figure out what you want to achieve and then commit and go after it. And while education is very important, don’t forget to get some actual work experience. If the original plan doesn’t work out, then change tack but keep your eye on your goals. It’s so easy to get distracted in today’s multi-media world that focus is really important. After university, my love and passion of sports media grew and grew as I worked my way up: first BBC in the regions, then BBC in London, Setanta Sports and then Sky. And as golf became a personal sport and passion, I wanted to specialise in that and luckily it happened. So I’m in my dream job really.
Well, I look at golf as a sort of metaphor for life, really. It’s so demanding, both physically and mentally that it challenges each aspect of you. You can have a day where you’re great on the golf course and then literally the next day you can be the worse golfer ever. And it’s that frustration with it and personal challenge that keeps you coming back. And I love that overall challenge: you have to be extremely disciplined and focused; you have to be calm and patient and then there is also the etiquette side of it, that teaches you really good life lessons. And it’s a great sport for all generations.
I wasn’t surprised. No. I look at it being quite cyclical. And so it was going to happen at some point. We had a lot of success over the years, but our team was becoming quite old, and it is time for a ‘changing of the guard’. The Americans really had to find a way to turn this competition around. They had been poor for quite a long time. Their team now is much younger, more competitive, less divisive and more team oriented. It was almost like college golf. I was working with David Howell at Sky, who said: it’s almost like a frat party. They had this team spirit and camaraderie that they had been lacking and seemed to have learned a lot from our blueprint. The same goes for their captain. I got to know Steve Stricker really well, who’s a lovely guy and you can really tell when players play for their captain. So, the US now have an amazing squad of young talent and its quite scary for us for the next few years.
I’m really into sports psychology, mindset and personal development. It’s a great passion of mine and I watch this space with interest. Doing the job that I do, gives me great insights as I speak to athletes on a regular basis. And I’m always looking for those little sound bites and for the bit between the ears that makes the difference at the top of professional sport. I think the pressures in society on young athletes is really tough. Social Media is amazing in some ways but can also be very hard. It raises that fear of missing out and creates constant comparison, doubt and often an imposter syndrome. There are so many pressures growing up now that it becomes hard to just be you sometimes, which can be quite dangerous. Naomi Osaka had achieved so much and became a global star and then it just became too much. And the same happened to Emma Raducanu. I think it was incredible how she managed to turn Wimbledon around to go and win the US Open. I think you should be able to express how you’re feeling and take time. I look at mental struggles like physical injuries. Just because it’s your mind, doesn’t mean it’s not broken and that you don’t need time to heal or rest. And I think as a society we should be kinder, especially to youngsters. Yes, dealing with pressures is part of life and sport but I think we all should be a little more forgiving.
Yes, of course. I think John McEnroe’s comments, questioning Emma’s resilience and mental strength were poor. While I agree that top athletes need both physical and mental agility, we need to recognise that we all struggle sometimes, and these youngsters do that in the public eye with millions watching their every move. And what we sometimes do in the British media is that we get very excited about home grown talent and so quickly build athletes up but then also very quickly knock them down. We need to cut them more slack and not let them suffer at the hands of tabloids.
Well, I look at my life at this stage and I feel incredibly lucky. I’ve got an amazing family, have a great job and a great circle of friends. But I guess personally I may have suffered a little relationship wise and yes, I struggled with my sexuality over quite a few years. But I’m at a point now where I feel that I’ve also got a voice and feel more comfortable with my own choices and that has led to me being more open about this kind of stuff. And if that helps one person reading my interviews in terms of owning their sexuality or embarking on an IVF pregnancy, then I am incredibly proud of that. Authenticity is my current buzz word: Be yourself! There’s only you. There’s no other ‘yous’ in the world, so own who you are, be comfortable with your own individuality and don’t care what others might think. It has not been easy for me to embark on this journey to starting a family. Previous relationships didn’t quite work out, an IVF journey with my previous partner sadly didn’t work and that was heartbreaking. But I always knew that I wanted to become a mum and so I look at this pregnancy as a gift. Yes, maybe I am a little older, but I see that as a good thing. It’s my journey and it’s the right time for me now. I’ve done a lot, achieved a lot and I can now enjoy having my baby boy in January.
Well, I am taking a year maternity leave from Sky, there are great plans in place for more Reach events and the next stage of growth for that platform. We tapped into a great format and I feel we’re doing a lot of good in that space. The mentoring aspect is also very important. So I am still very keen and ambitious about Reach. Overall, I am looking for some balance between starting a little family and doing what I love professionally.
Oh definitely golf clubs. And I plan to start him young as it’s a great sport for kids and teaches them some great life lessons. If he’s uncoordinated, I’ll be sending him back.
