SVG Europe Women
The Media Technology programme were proud to have staff and graduates supporting an SVG Europe Women’s event tonight hosted by Sky at their Osterley campus. Sports Video Group created the Women initiative with a mission statement “to create a powerful network of women working in the sports media arena that is able to call upon one another for ideas, support, help and advice.” We were pleased to have staff and graduates attending and on the panels.
The event attracted an excellent turnout with an audience of about 150 including Course Leader Polly Hickling, Technician Instructor Kerry Horton and fresh BSc (Hons) Broadcast Systems Engineering graduate Emily Bergan. The evening included panel sessions, networking, masterclasses and VT tour of an OB including live sports feeds. It was delivered in association with Sky Production Services and Sky Sports and focussed on how to address the gender imbalance within the industry. Sessions looked at unconscious bias and development opportunities and were led by senior executives from within the sports and wider broadcast industries. Speakers acknowledge the current male dominance were keen to demonstrate how businesses perform better with increased diversity. Existing opportunities and good practice were highlighted such as networking, training and support groups that are available to help women develop their careers within many workplaces. An encouraging message was that there appears to be a cultural shift happening as awareness of the issues grows. We were pleased to have our very own Associate Lecturer Ilona Valent on the first panel “Moving the dial on gender balance in sports content creation” describing the barriers and opportunities that she’s found so far in her career. One of our graduates also featured on the second panel “Going live in 5, 4, 3… On the road with women behind the camera”.
Polly commented “This was an excellent, supportive and constructive event where all areas of sports broadcasting were explored and discussed, including the initiatives in place at a variety of companies to improve equality and diversity. It was great to see Media Technology graduate Sarah Warnock, who works at Sky, discussing her experiences working behind the scenes and all of the work that is being done by Sky. It was a great evening and a really good supportive event.”
