Blanc discusses misogyny experience at WRU

Amanda Blanc joined Aviva successful July 2020, becoming the company's archetypal pistillate main executive

Former Professional Rugby Board (PRB) seat Amanda Blanc has spoken astir the misogyny she endured astatine the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).

Aviva Group CEO Blanc says she was not listened to astatine the WRU.

"I spent 2 years connected the Welsh Rugby Union board, and I would accidental that I'm a tenable businessperson," Blanc told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.

"I've been successful concern for a agelong play of time, but erstwhile you are conscionable simply not listened to, immoderate misogynistic comments.

"There was 1 which was 'what bash you cognize astir governance?'. Well, rather a batch actually. I've got 32 years of acquisition and I run successful a regulated business.

"Nobody other was asked that question, but I was. I got an apology for that actually, a written apology for it."

The PRB includes representatives of the WRU and the 4 Welsh determination teams, Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets.

A BBC Wales investigates programme highlighted accusations of sexism and misogyny wrong the WRU and questioned wherefore a captious study into the women's crippled successful 2021 has not been published.

The WRU says it does not person the support of the writer oregon participants to people the review.

The ungraded yet led to the resignation of erstwhile main enforcement Steve Phillips, portion seat Ieuan Evans and acting main enforcement Nigel Walker person ordered an autarkic taskforce to look into the WRU's culture.

The programme revealed however Blanc, a UK authorities Women successful Finance champion and Sunday Times Businessperson of the Year, stepped down due to the fact that she felt she was "not being listened to" and the WRU "needed modernisation".

In her leaving speech, Blanc recalled a "truly violative discussion" astir reducing the sanctions for an elected WRU subordinate aft helium had made misogynistic comments successful public, including that "men are the maestro race" and women should "stick to the ironing".

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Welsh rugby's governing assemblage has called an bonzer wide gathering (EGM) for 26 March to effort and instigate large alteration successful the mode the organisation is run.

Blanc believes this situation could person been averted.

"I inactive consciousness that genuinely, and I don't accidental this precise often, if I had been listened to past we wouldn't person had the concern that would person happened implicit the past fig of weeks, peculiarly successful respect of the women's game," added Blanc.

"There was a women's reappraisal which was undertaken astir the mode that women were treated precise otherwise to men.

"I called for the women's reappraisal to beryllium made nationalist and I called for the board's governance to beryllium modernised, neither of those 2 things person happened and we find ourselves present successful the concern wherever a batch of women person travel guardant to accidental that they were severely treated.

"It near maine feeling profoundly frustrated, precise bittersweet actually. But I americium hopeful that with the reappraisal that's present being undertaken and I anticipation that I americium asked to lend to that review, that determination volition beryllium change, but it needs to change."