Rebecca Dingley, 42, holds a sports‑science degree, a master’s in coaching and a UEFA Pro Licence, yet her credentials are questioned. Testifying before a parliamentary committee, she said stereotypes reduce women to “maternal instincts” and that empathy is wrongly seen as a weakness at elite level. After earning an A Licence she was placed with under‑nine squads while less‑qualified men coached seniors.

Dingley pointed out that every male academy player aged 16‑18 receives a UEFA C Licence through the PFA, feeding roughly 1,000 coaches annually across the 92 EFL and Premier League clubs. The women’s game only recently gained PFA support for the second tier, still leaving a generation of female ex‑players without a clear route to senior coaching, a significant gap.

FIFA’s new rule mandating at least one female coach on women’s World Cup squads and the UEFA A Diploma cohort record are steps forward, but Dingley warns they must be paired with cultural change. With 46% of WSL and WSL 2 managers now women, social‑media abuse still drives talent away. The FA pledges tailored pathways to lift female representation now.