Dr Anita White, founder of the IWG, has today been recognised in the 2025 New Year Honours List.
Anita will be honoured with a CBE in recognition of her services to women and to sport throughout
her career, which has spanned over 40 years.
Beginning her career as an athlete, Anita won 42 caps representing England at hockey, leading the
team to world cup victory in 1975. A lack of recognition for the women’s team’s achievements
encouraged Anita to be amongst a group of women who established the ‘Women’s Sport
Foundation’ (now ‘Women In Sport’) in 1984 – the first organisation of its kind in the UK.
Ten years later, Anita went on to establish the first official ‘World Conference on Women and Sport’
in 1994, from which the IWG was born. Anita remains close to the IWG in her role as Strategic
Advisor, offering guidance and support to the current UK Secretariat.
As well as playing an integral role in the creation of these two important organisations for advancing
gender equality and equity in women’s sport both in the UK and worldwide, Anita has also
established the ‘Anita White Foundation’ and the ‘Anita White Fund’. The Anita White Foundation
was launched in 2011 to support the education and development of women leaders from countries
where women face particular challenges. A key achievement of the Foundation is the establishment
of the Women's Sport Leadership Academy (WSLA) in 2013, which has provided development
opportunities to 456 women leaders from across 76 countries.
As a legacy of the Foundation, the Anita White Fund was launched in conjunction with the IWG
earlier this year and consists of two sets of awards – The Anita White Catalyst Grant and The Cath
Sweet Award – established to honour Dr Anita White CBE and the late Cath Sweet, two leading
figures in the women and sport movement and international sport development. The Anita White
Fund has provided micro grants to support 18 projects across 14 countries, empowering women in
sport and helping women access sport, around the world.
Dr Anita White CBE said: “It is a great honour to be named alongside all the other people recognised
for their service this year. It is my belief that sport is for everyone, and in the past forty years
tremendous strides forward have been made – but we must go further to achieve true equality. I
hope this honour inspires other women and girls to break down barriers and smash glass ceilings in
2025.”
Annamarie Phelps CBE OLY, Chair of the IWG UK Secretariat, said: “Congratulations to Anita from
everybody at the IWG – it is great to see this recognition for such a remarkable woman. Anita has
had a trailblazing career in advancing gender equality within sport globally.
“The IWG celebrated its 30th anniversary this year giving us an opportunity to look back and
celebrate the achievements that have been made due to Anita’s determination, dedication and
foresight. The IWG is committed to progressing this mission and are very thankful for Anita’s
continued support.”
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