Today, GSB is giving the floor to women from various corners of the sports greening movement to get their takes on a number of issues, including why women have found success in what are still the early days of the Green-Sports niche, what unique challenges they may face, and more.

Shifting from one male-dominated industry (real estate) to another (sports)…

I come from working in sustainability in the real estate and construction industries. Both are known for promoting male leadership and that was my experience.

But, when I list my valued mentors and most respected colleagues in the building industry, I find myself writing the names of fearless, passionate women. Not only are they accomplished, but they are also collaborative and never shy to share lessons learned or even ‘secrets’ – it feels like an unspoken network of allies within a sometimes intimidating industry.

Has led some men to underestimate me…

After shifting industries to focus on sustainability in sport earlier this year, I was hesitant that the stereotype of a male-led industry would be similar to that of real estate.

In describing my new work with Recipric, it has sometimes been assumed that I have little knowledge of sports, relying solely on my sustainability expertise… Someone recently started to explain a certain internationally-known athlete by first describing which sport they played.