Hayley McQueen on the growth of women working in football and sport

Hayley McQueen has been speaking to UCFB about her joys of seeing the growth of female involvement in sports broadcasting.

Hayley, who has been presenting on Sky Sports News for more than 15 years, joined UCFB for our media conference held at Old Trafford.

During her visit to UCFB Manchester, she spoke about how fantastic it is to see the number of female students forging careers in the sports media industry.

“Slowly but surely,” Hayley said, “women were being introduced into this world. In the last three or four years, there’s been this explosion of females, not just in front of camera, but behind the scenes as well.”

Year after year, UCFB has seen more female students studying and graduating from our sports industry-related degree courses, whether related to sports media, sports business or sports coaching.

Hayley added, talking specifically about the growth of women working in sports broadcasting. “Certainly, there’s been a massive shift at Sky Sports News, and I think everyone’s making a conscious effort to be more diverse overall. We’ve got to reflect our viewers, the demographic of those who are watching.”

She then offered advice for women who are dreaming of scoring their career goals within the football and wider sports industry.

“I think for women coming into it,” she added, “you will find that you are not just a woman alone in a room full of men. There are lots of other women and they will champion you; you will find your allies and women who have been there a lot longer than you who want you to succeed.

“There are a lot of female anchors now, who are all doing an incredible job, and they are paving the way, not just for other females to look up as role models and mentors, but in a sense of them thinking That’s achievable. They’ve done it.”

Many female students graduate from UCFB and enjoy thriving in careers across sport. Find out more about a select few on our graduates profile page.

UCFB offers a range of sports media-related degree courses, including:

• BA (Hons) Football Business and Media
• BA (Hons) Multimedia Sports Journalism
• BA (Hons) Sports Business and Sports Broadcasting

You can also view a UCFB prospectus to learn more about student life, our unique courses and everything there is to know about kicking off your career in the sports industry.