A recent report has revealed that women involved in Scottish cricket encounter a toxic environment and significant prejudice.
The report commissioned by Cricket Scotland highlights the prevalence of sexism and antiquated views in the sport.
Trudy Lindblade, CEO of Cricket Scotland, described the findings as a 'damning indictment'.
A previous report in 2022 found that the leadership of the sport in Scotland was 'institutionally racist'.
On Monday, Ms Lindblade stated that there was disrespectful, demeaning, and deeply concerning behaviour towards women.
An independent firm, McKinney HR, conducted the latest assessment through various interviews with current players and staff members. The assessment revealed:
- Over the years, women have been treated differently from men, and their specific needs are often dismissed or not considered.
- Sexism is prevalent in the cricket game in Scotland, as evidenced by the high degree of prejudice and discrimination towards female staff and players.
- There is no evidence to suggest current examples of misogyny, which is described as a hatred of women.
- The root causes of sexism were identified, including the composition of committees, ingrained male behaviours, and underrepresentation of female game officials.
Ms Lindblade, who became CEO in October, stated that Cricket Scotland permitted disrespectful, demeaning, and deeply concerning behaviours to persist for a significant period.
"This is completely unacceptable, and I wholeheartedly apologise to every single person who was affected and let down by the governing body."
According to Ms Lindblade, the report indicated that the organisation has a lot of work to do to make the sport welcoming and safe for all women and girls.
She stated that some of the report's recommendations have already been implemented and a new strategy for addressing the issue will be released soon.
Ms Lindblade also mentioned that Cricket Scotland now has a strong disciplinary and complaints process in place and encouraged anyone affected to get involved.