Focus on the advancement of women at Amundi network meeting
“Structural hurdles are still an obstacle for women in sport” – the statement by long-time Hamburg national field hockey player and Olympic medal winner Anne Schröder set the tone at the event “Success needs diversity – women, sport and networks” in the run-up to the Amundi German Masters at the Business Club Hamburg. Organized by the title sponsor of the only German LET tournament, numerous representatives from sports associations, the media, industry and politics discussed aspects of promoting women in sport. It was moderated by Konstantin Krüger, Head of Communications at the German Golf Association.
Overcoming structural hurdles
But what do these structural hurdles look like? “Equal pay is also a huge issue in sport,” said Schröder, referring to her own career. But the availability of female coaches, combining top-class sport with the desire to have children or simply taking into account the fact that female athletes have different physical requirements are also key issues.
“We have made significant progress in women’s sport,” summarized Hamburg Senator Maryam Blumenthal, herself a former competitive basketball player. “But it is important to make it clear from a young age that it makes no difference whether you are male or female.” From the point of view of German golf, Miriam Hiller, Vice President of the German Golf Association, can already give a positive interim report at this point: “We are the association in Europe with the most female golfers and they are equally distributed. The German Golf Association promotes girls just as much as boys.”
Nevertheless, Hiller agreed with Peter Merck, founder of the Golf Lounge Hamburg, and Daniel Reitz, CMO at Amundi Germany, that more visibility is needed for women in golf. The Amundi German Masters, which will take place from May 16 to 19 presented by VcG at the Green Eagle Golf Courses in Winsen, will also give women’s golf this visibility. The international commitment to women’s golf is only logical for Amundi as a company, explained CMO Daniel Reitz. “We live the topic of diversity and as a company we cannot afford to do without women as top performers.” With the Amundi German Masters, the company has found a platform that perfectly conveys the topic of promoting women. With the Association of Club-Free Golfers, the company has also had an important partner since the beginning, which also supports the topic of women’s golf.
This positive experience was shared by Peter Merck, who, as the operator of the Golf Lounge Hamburg, supports numerous initiatives to promote youth sport and exchanges with other sports. “My most successful projects have been with women,” summarized Merck. “And it’s also a win-win situation economically, because you get many times the return on your investment.”
All speakers at the event agreed that it is therefore crucial that questions of suitability for jobs in the sports environment are not tied to gender. “I think it’s crazy that we are even discussing whether women are suitable for a coaching job because they are women,” said Saskia Breuer, head of women’s soccer at HSV, summing up the allocation of head coach positions at Bundesliga soccer clubs.
With regard to German golf, it is also true that the vast majority of all coaches on golf courses are male, while female golf coaches are clearly in the minority. Miriam Hiller, herself a PGA professional, lists this among the “issues that are still unresolved”, but also sees a positive development here over the past twenty years. “We are on the right track here too.”
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