International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women – while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender-balance.
To celebrate the day, as well as raise awareness of the importance of gender-balance and the #BetterforBalance campaign, we will be talking to a number of women from the club and finding out what the day means for them, how korfball can help gender-balance, hearing their experiences and seeing if there are any lessons we can take forward.
Katrina is currently President of Edinburgh City Korfball Club having played korfball for about 4 years, originally at Edinburgh University before graduating and moving to Edinburgh City 2 years ago.
What does International Women’s Day and the #BalanceforBetter campaign mean to you?
Gender-balance, to me, means not having your gender effect the opportunities available to you. No-one should tell you you should, or shouldn’t, do something because of your gender.
What are your experiences of gender-balance in your everyday life?
I’ve been privileged to work in areas with some great female role-models. As a statistician people often ask me if it’s male dominated – which it sometimes is – but it’s great to see so much effort being put in to encourage more women and girls to study STEM subjects.
Does korfball help to promote a gender-balance, and do you think there are lessons that can be learnt for the wider community from our sport?
Korfball is a mixed-gender sport that relies on both males and females playing well together to make the team work.
I think other sports could learn from the equality in Korfball. The sport is designed to need both genders, and to not discriminate on height or specific skills. It’s a very inclusive sport!
Do you think the club is a positive influence on gender-balance and are there any areas that the club excels in or could do better?
I think the club is a good example of gender-balance and is progressing too. We’ve got a roughly 50/50 split of male and female members and this is represented at all levels of the club, from the committee to the coaching team and beyond.
Edinburgh City Korfball Club 