Gender equality in sport to be discussed by Paralympic archery champion

Double Paralympic gold medallist and alumna Danielle Brown MBE will be returning to her alma mater to speak to staff and students about gender equality in sport to mark International Women’s Day.

The champion archer, who is also an honorary graduate and lends her name to one of the University’s two sports centres, will deliver the keynote speech of the University’s International Women’s Day celebrations on 8 March in which she will explore why gender equality is important to sport and what it means to her.

As part of the event, entitled ‘Why Gender Equality Matters to Me’, the University will also be rewarding the contributions to gender equality of three members of staff and two students of different genders who will give short speeches on their experiences.

Ms Brown studied Law at the University and won her second successive Paralympic games archery gold medal in 2012. In 2010 she won a team gold at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where she was the first disabled competitor to represent England in an able bodied discipline.

She is a recipient of the University’s Alumni of the Year award and was bestowed an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 2013. She received a MBE for services to sport in the New Years Honours for 2013 and in September that year she was present for the official opening of the University’s Danielle Brown Sports Centre on its main campus.

The University’s International Women’s Day events form part of its work for the HeForShe initiative, a solidarity campaign launched by the United Nations, which promotes gender equality.

The event takes place on 8 March between 12:15pm - 2pm in the Charles Wilson Belvoir City Lounge.