Judy Murray at Expo 2020 Dubai: ‘See it, be it’ – how collaboration, determination and courage are key to empowering women and girls

Tennis coach Judy Murray, a driving force for women in sport, visited Expo 2020 Dubai and issued a rallying call for women and girls everywhere: to stand up, speak up and show up – and don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

Murray, who was on a private visit ahead of International Women’s Day (8 March), held this year under the theme #BreakTheBias, said: “You have a huge opportunity at Expo to showcase the women’s side of everything, whether that is culture, education, business, research, science, sport… For me, it’s all about visibility. If you can see it, you can be it. So much of Expo has highlighted the significant impact that women have made in so many and varied ways in the world, and will continue to make – so long as we are given the chance to do so. 

“That’s a big thing for International Women’s Day and breaking the bias – it’s about shining a spotlight on women’s achievements to show girls what’s possible… We should all have a fair opportunity to have an education, to explore a wide range of opportunities and careers and to work our way up the pathways that lead to key positions in whatever we choose to do. We need to be given an equal opportunity to follow our dreams and maximise our potential. Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not.”

Murray, mother of British tennis players Jamie and Andy, is passionate about increasing the involvement of women in sport at all levels and in all areas – something she sees as crucial to developing the life skills that are necessary if women are to achieve success in the workplace as well as on the pitch, track or court.

“So many qualities can be developed through sports – resilience, determination, passion, curiosity, leadership, teamwork, teachability, goal-setting, persistence. It’s a big list and we really need to ensure that the sporting environment is open to everyone to participate, compete, perform, administer, officiate , coach or train  –  and I don’t just mean women. This applies to other minorities too.”

While acknowledging a huge groundswell for women’s sport in recent years, Murray said much more needed to be done: “We’re starting to bridge the gap a little bit. But we can’t sit back be happy with a bit of progress – we have to keep our foot on the gas, and we have to keep pushing to get closer to equality. We need women to be brave, be courageous and use their voices. That’s why I’m such a big supporter of women empowering women, because if you can put an arm around somebody or be at the end of the phone for somebody who’s finding it tough, or needs some words of wisdom from someone who’s been there and done it, that can make all the difference in the world.”

Murray, who has visited Expo 2020 Dubai twice, said: “I’m glad to have been able to come back to Expo, because one day was nowhere near enough. I can’t believe how much I’ve learned… I would have needed a fortnight to crack everything!”

She was particularly impressed with the Women’s Pavilion, in collaboration with Cartier, and how it highlighted not only women’s remarkable achievements but also the glaring disparities in areas such as girls in education and female world leaders.

“I loved the Women’s Pavilion. It’s a real opportunity to showcase the incredible achievements of women, but it also provided so many facts and figures about how far behind we are in so many things. It created a really striking balance of ‘look what we can do’ versus ‘look how many of us are not getting the opportunity to even try’.”

Murray works hard to promote visibility and opportunity in women’s sport. Her projects include expanding the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) of Great Britain’s female coaching workforce and creating ‘ambassadors’ to help more women get involved in all aspects of tennis. She also hosts a TV series, aptly called Driving Force, that features some of Britain’s most successful sportswomen, celebrating their incredible achievements, but more importantly, “creating talking points around the barriers and obstacles and issues that they faced, and that girls and women continue to face in progressing through sport.

“One of the other things that really has to change is that we need more women in decision-making positions. Men, understandably, see the world with men’s eyes, they hear it with men’s ears, so too often we get left behind. For us to have a greater voice, to be at the top table, we need a pathway of stepping stones… And if that pathway is skewed towards men, you’ll find that women will struggle to make progress.

“If we don’t make a noise, nobody hears us. We have to be prepared to stand up, speak up, show up. And if we can all do it together, we’re in a much stronger position. I’m a huge believer in bringing like-minded women together. It’s like building a female army and going off to fight for what we believe in and are passionate about. We are stronger together.”