100 of the Most Influential Women in Sport >> Boardroom & Administration

Barbara Slater, England

BBC Director of Sport

Slater has carved out a proud career in sport, both in front of and behind the camera. The 59-year-old became the BBC’s first female Director of Sport in April 2009, landing one of the most-influential jobs in British television. More than three decades prior, the high flyer – in a literal sense – had carried the United Kingdom’s flag at the 1976 Olympics, where she competed in the gymnastics section. A move into television production followed and she steadily worked her way up the corporation’s hierarchy as a producer, senior producer, and executive producer. Slater has gone on to organise coverage for the 2012 London Games, plus manage BBC Sport’s relocation from the capital to Salford. Winning back broadcast rights for the FA Cup was a recent success, but cuts – across the BBC – of £800 million make managing the sports portfolio an increasingly fraught task.

– Slater is responsible for 20,000 hours of BBC sports programming.

– A third of women now make up BBC Sport’s workforce, according to Slater.

– Slater was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to sports broadcasting.

Did you know…

Slater’s father, Bill, was named Footballer of the Year in 1960, played for England and is the scorer of Blackpool’s fastest-ever goal (11 seconds, versus Stoke in 1949).

“I’ve been in the industry a long time. It is transformed. If you said when I first joined as an assistant producer that there would have ever have been a woman in my position I would have laughed at you.” – Barbara Slater (Source: The Guardian)