Women in Sport, from Track Star to Changemaker

We were delighted to welcome Donna Fraser OBE, a 4x Olympian and former 400m sprinter for Great Britain, as a speaker at our recent Women and Girls in Sport Conference, where she shared her reflections on access, visibility, and meaningful change in sport. Donna told us about her journey — from elite athletics to the strategic table — and what it will take to create a sporting culture that uplifts all women and girls.

Donna Fraser OBE is a 4x Olympian and former 400m sprinter for Great Britain, with a decorated athletics career spanning over 20 years. A European, Commonwealth, and World medallist, Donna was forced to retire from professional sport in 2009 following a breast cancer diagnosis. Since then, she has become a passionate advocate for women in sport equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), using her lived experience and leadership to inspire systemic change in both sport and business

Currently the Director of People, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at the Professional Cricketers’ Association, Donna brings over a decade of corporate experience across sport, wellbeing, and leadership. Donna has helped shape inclusion agendas across multiple organisations, from the London Marathon Charitable Trust to Women’s Sport Trust and Her Spirit.

We caught up with Donna to talk about leadership, inclusion, and how sport can evolve to truly support women and girls at every level.

You’ve become a powerful advocate for structural change in sport and business. What leadership principles have guided your journey from elite athlete to EDI changemaker, and how can sports organisations embed those values into their own cultures to support women and girls?

 Donna Fraser: 
I’ve always said that the skills I’ve developed as a sportsperson, I’ve been able to transfer into the leadership positions I’ve held. To name a few, elite athletes are visionaries and have forward-thinking attributes. We are team players – you cannot get a relay baton around the track with one person, it takes a team; we have the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, environments and deal with setbacks.

In relation to how sports organisations can embed such principles to support women and girls, they need to know:

• What is their vision and mission for women and girls?
• Who can support them to achieve their vision and mission?
• Understand the existing barriers women and girls are experiencing and track against their plans.

Having faced both triumphs and challenges, how have your experiences shaped your approach to designing inclusive policies — particularly around health, trauma, and career transitions for women in sport?

Donna Fraser:

Not all of my ideas have worked and when they don’t it is important for me to review and understand why and what I could have done differently. Understanding my audience is key – not everyone is the same, so taking the time to listen to the lived experiences from women in sport to truly understand their needs in order to make informed decisions and develop relatable, quality and impactful policies. 

You’ve championed intersectional approaches to equity, recognising that race, gender, health, and class all shape sporting experiences. What blind spots still exist in policy and practice, and how can governing bodies go beyond ‘tick-box’ diversity?

Donna Fraser:

The Code for Sport Governance holds funded governing bodies to account which has five principles for good governance. It is a process which checks and challenges how governing bodies operate. 

All sports are different and are at different stages when it comes to EDI, so to ensure this is not just a tick box exercise, governing bodies need to be brave and push the boundaries for the benefit of their sport becoming more accessible and inclusive – engage with the sportspeople they serve so they feel part of the process to reinforce a collective commitment to championing diversity. 

Despite initiatives to increase participation, there remains a significant drop-off in sports among teenage girls. From your perspective, what ecosystem-wide changes are needed — across schools, community clubs, media, and elite institutions?

Donna Fraser:

There are some great existing sporting projects and initiatives around the UK aiming to increase participation but societal barriers such as gender stereotypes, lack of positive role models, lack of encouragement and peer pressure contribute to the drop-off of teenage girls in sport. This must be addressed from a young age. 

I went to an all-girls primary school and I was lucky to have fantastic school teachers who understood that sport is a vehicle for personal development, and I was surrounded by positive women role models who always offered me encouragement. This culture has changed over the years and not for the best, but things can change with support from the Government: 

• Upskill school teachers and fund PE departments to embed more sport in schools. 

• Engage and incentivise volunteers who can support school sport delivery. 

• School and local sports clubs’ relationships also need improving – rather than working in silo, work in collaboration to identify and nurture talent. 

• Confidence and self-belief starts from grassroots and access to positive role models can be achieved in collaboration with governing bodies. 

Another factor to consider is access to facilities and parental support. They go hand in hand. If young talent do not have the support from their parents, the parents are highly unlikely to want to take them to participate in sports – cost of living is a huge factor to this. Likewise, if there are no facilities near to home, they are unlikely to travel distances to do sport, unless they have supportive parents/guardians. 

As someone who now sits at the strategic table in multiple organisations, what’s your view on how decision-making power can be redistributed in sport? How do we hold organisations accountable?

Donna Fraser:

Every organisation I’ve been employed by and consulted, I’ve asked the most important question, “What is the organisation’s purpose?” This is no different for sport. Once that purpose has been established, coupled with their meaningful core values, it forms the base of everything the organisation delivers. 

Everyone in the organisation should buy into this so they are empowered to hold everyone within the organisation accountable when decisions are made outside of this ethos. 

From the track to the boardroom, Donna Fraser has never stopped pushing boundaries. Her work is a powerful reminder that inclusion is a continuous journey — one that requires leadership, humility, and a willingness to listen. As she continues to shape policy and champion the voices of underrepresented communities, Donna’s legacy is already clear: real change happens when purpose meets action.