The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) will hear from umpires and referees across tennis, football and judo during the second evidence session of its inquiry: Beyond participation: Routes into sport for girls and women.
","secondaryDescription":"MPs on the cross-party committee, chaired by Labour MP Sarah Owen, will examine women’s representation and progression in officiating across different sports. The session is likely to focus on routes into umpiring and refereeing, career development and employment conditions.
\r\nWEC’s inquiry examinesways women and girls can be involved in sport beyond participating as athletes, players and competitors. It will also cover sports science, roles in club administration and sports governance, plus access to sports journalism and broadcasting. The inquiry explores access from grassroots level and pathways to professional and elite careers.
\r\nThe Committee published a report in March 2024 on the health and physiology-related barriers to girls’ and women’s participation and performance in sport and exercise.
","parliamentTvUrl":"https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/d83af0b2-de27-4b0a-b076-2f298c03e97d","id":27281,"name":"Women and Equalities Committee","startDate":"2026-06-17T14:00:00","endDate":"2026-06-17T16:30:00","cancelledDate":null,"locationId":13,"location":"Room 6, Palace of Westminster","eventType":{"id":6,"name":"Formal meeting (oral evidence session)","isVisit":false,"description":"Formal meetings may be held in private (for example to consider a draft report) or in public (for example to hear oral evidence), and require a minimum number of members to be present."},"eventSource":"CIS","committees":[{"contact":{"email":"womeqcom@parliament.uk","phone":null,"address":"Women and Equalities Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA","contactDisclaimer":"We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone.\r\nPlease be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints."},"id":328,"name":"Women and Equalities Committee","parentCommittee":null,"subCommittees":[],"house":"Commons","leadHouse":null,"category":{"id":1,"name":"Select"},"committeeTypes":[{"id":1,"name":"(HC) Public Standing Orders - Departmental","committeeCategory":{"id":1,"name":"Select"}}],"showOnWebsite":true,"websiteLegacyUrl":"https://old.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/women-and-equalities-committee/","websiteLegacyRedirectEnabled":false,"startDate":"2015-06-03T00:00:00","endDate":null,"dateCommonsAppointed":"2024-10-28T00:00:00","dateLordsAppointed":null,"scrutinisingDepartments":[{"departmentId":104,"name":"Government Equalities Office"}],"isLeadCommittee":true,"nameHistory":[{"id":322,"committeeId":328,"name":"Women and Equalities Committee","startDate":"2015-06-03T00:00:00","endDate":null}]}],"committeeBusinesses":[{"id":9719,"title":"Beyond participation: Routes into sport for girls and women","type":{"id":1,"name":"Inquiry","isInquiry":true,"description":"Inquiries allow committees to consider oral and written evidence on a particular topic. They usually result in the publication of a report."},"openDate":"2026-03-26T00:00:00","closeDate":null,"latestReport":null,"openSubmissionPeriods":[],"closedSubmissionPeriods":[],"nextOralEvidenceSession":null,"contact":{"email":"womeqcom@parliament.uk","phone":null,"address":null,"contactDisclaimer":null}}],"childEvents":[],"nextActivity":null,"activities":[{"committeeBusinesses":[],"oralEvidences":[],"id":37797,"name":"Women and Equalities Committee","startDate":"2026-06-17T14:00:00","endDate":"2026-06-17T14:30:00","eventId":27281,"isPrivate":true,"activityType":"Private discussion","attendees":[]},{"committeeBusinesses":[{"id":9719,"title":"Beyond participation: Routes into sport for girls and women","type":{"id":1,"name":"Inquiry","isInquiry":true,"description":"Inquiries allow committees to consider oral and written evidence on a particular topic. They usually result in the publication of a report."},"openDate":"2026-03-26T00:00:00","closeDate":null,"latestReport":null,"openSubmissionPeriods":[],"closedSubmissionPeriods":[],"nextOralEvidenceSession":null,"contact":{"email":"womeqcom@parliament.uk","phone":null,"address":null,"contactDisclaimer":null}}],"oralEvidences":[],"id":37798,"name":"Women and Equalities Committee","startDate":"2026-06-17T14:20:00","endDate":"2026-06-17T16:30:00","eventId":27281,"isPrivate":false,"activityType":"Oral evidence","attendees":[{"displayOrder":1,"organisations":[],"submitterType":0,"additionalContext":"Gold Badge Chair Umpire at International Tennis Federation and Grand Slam team","id":35748,"personId":122551,"name":"Alison Hughes MBE","photoUrl":null,"memberInfo":null},{"displayOrder":2,"organisations":[{"name":"Professional Game Match Officials","role":"Premier League Assistant Referee and FIFA Video Match Official","idmsId":null,"cisId":112995}],"submitterType":0,"additionalContext":null,"id":35749,"personId":122552,"name":"Sian Massey-Ellis MBE","photoUrl":null,"memberInfo":null},{"displayOrder":3,"organisations":[{"name":"International Judo Federation","role":"World Tour Judo Referee","idmsId":null,"cisId":112971}],"submitterType":0,"additionalContext":null,"id":35750,"personId":122553,"name":"Lisa Rivers","photoUrl":null,"memberInfo":null}]}]}