Women in Sport Summit

Leaders from across sport, business and academia came together at the AIG Women’s Open for The R&A’s Women in Sport Summit, exploring how collaboration, innovation and long-term investment can help shape the future of women’s sport.

Held during the Championship’s 50th anniversary year, the summit reflected on the progress made by women’s golf while looking ahead to the opportunities and challenges that remain in the sport.

Through keynote presentations and panel discussions, speakers explored how organisations can create more inclusive environments, develop stronger pathways and ensure future growth benefits even more women and girls.

The summit opened with Fairways & Fortitude, presented by Hannah Fleming, Learning & Access Curator of The World of Golf Museum, celebrating the pioneering women whose determination and achievements helped shape the game of golf.

Welcoming delegates to the summit, Cat Haynes, Chief People Officer at The R&A said, the event embodied the organisation's purpose of Opening Golf to the World by bringing together diverse perspectives to inspire meaningful action across the sport.

In her opening remarks, she encouraged attendees to embrace the opportunity to learn from one another, challenge thinking and continue working together to make golf more inclusive and accessible to new audiences.

Golf Broadcaster and Women in Sport Summit host, Sarah Stirk, continued by reflected on the evolution of the AIG Women’s Open since its first staging in 1976, highlighting the growth of the Championship and the wider women’s game over the past five decades.

Professor Leanne Norman, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor and Director of the Women in Sport Institute at Loughborough University, set the tone for the day with a thought-provoking keynote, challenging delegates to think beyond participation and visibility.

While acknowledging the significant progress made in women’s sport, she called for greater ambition in designing systems, environments and investment models that better meet the needs of women, ahead of a series of insightful panel discussions featuring influential voices from across sport, including representatives from The R&A.

The summit explored a range of themes influencing the future of women’s sport.

Discussions focused on the role of partnerships in accelerating progress, the importance of sustained visibility, and how organisations can work together to create opportunities on and off the course. Speakers also considered how research, technology and artificial intelligence can support athletes, improve fan experiences and help shape the future of the sport.

A particular highlight was a panel discussion featuring amateur golfer and adidas ambassador Zainab Jeppe, Colombian amateur golfer Maria Jose Marin [below], and Wigan Warriors' Megan Williams, who shared their experiences of overcoming barriers and the value of visible role models.

Their insights reinforced the importance of creating welcoming environments where more women and girls feel they belong. Panellists also spoke about the responsibility of today's leaders to inspire the next generation, while ensuring the progress seen in recent years continues across every level of sport.

The summit concluded with a conversation between AIG and The R&A on the continued development of the AIG Women’s Open.

Mark Darbon, Chief Executive of The R&A, reflected on the role the Championship has played in growing the women’s game, highlighting the importance of building global audiences, creating world-class experiences for players and allowing women’s golf to continue shaping its own identity.

Across the day, speakers shared a common ambition: to build on the momentum behind women’s sport through collaboration, innovation and long-term commitment, ensuring future generations have even greater opportunities to participate, compete and lead.