LILAMANI de SOYSA

“Go for it, but make it your aim to make the industry more equitable, ethical and sustainable. Build your future only with like-minded people.”

Meet Lilamani de Soysa, a former elite table tennis player. She is an independent professional in international sport and also a Global Executive Member at the International Working Group (IWG).

STORYTELLING

“The power of storytelling positively influenced my perception of women’s sport at the first IWG World Conference I attended in 2002 in Montreal, where I heard of women like Alice Milliat. It led to the first women's development programme at the ITTF.”

KEEP DOING IT!

“The recurring themes of successful women in sport are: the struggle to get there - the invisibility - the lack of support and opportunities to further a career in leadership - the political system in place that excludes women - the broken system that tries to mend the women instead of mending the system. The lessons learned from these themes is to just do it and keep doing it!

BALANCED PERSPECTIVES

“To mitigate the risks that will come along with more investment in women's sport, there should be balanced perspectives in decision making. We need more women leaders, otherwise it's the same thing, just another day!”