On Tuesday Hillary Clinton became the first woman to head a major party ticket as she was declared nominee for the Democratic Party for the upcoming US Presidential election.
"I can't believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet" said Clinton after she was officially confirmed as the Democratic runner.
On Thursday, Sky Sports did their part to chip away at the glass ceiling when they chose a woman to front part of their Premier League coverage next season.
Hayley McQueen is an award winning producer; she holds a BA in PR Marketing and Journalism. She studied media law before joining Sky Sports.
Society still includes a section that will disregard her overwhelming qualifications for the post simply on the basis that McQueen is a woman.
It is nothing new to the 36-year-old, sexism in the male dominated industry of sports broadcasting has always existed.
Having worked for the best part of 15 years to forge a career in sport, she’s tough enough to handle those who doubt her:
"I think things have changed, I definitely saw sexism when I started out, I was 21-years-of age starting out in a club channel.
"Now working with Gary Hughes (Sky’s head of Football), we’ve known each other for 10 years. A lot of the people who are in the higher positions at Sky, we’re of a similar age and from a similar generation."
"Those who have the opinion that there’s no place for women in the game are dying out. Half of the staff on Sky Sports News HQ are woman"
McQueen joined the broadcaster after working with MUTV and admits she encountered sexism at that point.
But it was jibes about nepotism that got to the presenter, she is the daughter of former Leeds United, Manchester United and Scotland footballer Gordon McQueen.
"When you’re starting out people don’t take you seriously, they’d be like: ‘oh is the girl interviewing me’, well I have a name, I’m doing a job I spent many years at university."
"Not necessarily the sexism but the nepotism with my father being a footballer, ‘oh she only got the job because her dad played football’."
"I got everything I learned from my dad so I do have him to be thankful for, I’ve been lucky enough to have seen someone who has played, coached, managed, been a scout, commentated, and worked in the media."
"I would like to think when people read my background and see that I’ve studied and worked in sport for 14 years now that actually I’ve earned my stripes and I don’t feel I have to prove myself at all."
McQueen admits to trying to combat sexism by squeezing as many stats as possible into interviews and broadcasts to prove that she was comfortable with her subject matter.
"When I first joined Sky, (I did try to prove myself) but as a journalist you’re thought to ask what, where, why, when and how, ask the simple questions."
"I remember back in the day I’d be asking questions and putting in as many stats as I possibly could, and actually those stats are not needed, they’re not important and they don’t tell the story"
"My guest has to tell the story and I just have to ask basic questions to get the best out of him, I don’t want to be feeding my guests with the information that I want him to tell me."
"I was guilty of that and as a journalist I know it’s not what you’re supposed to do, but I thought people would think I didn’t know what I was talking about"
It’s not just football fans that engage in sexism, people with the broadcasting industry have also been guilty of it.
RTÉ pundit Joe Brolly apologised for derogatory remarks about Sky Sports presenter Rachel Wyse.
@RACHEL_WYSE Rachel, I apologise for the remark about a "Baywatch babe" . It was not meant to be personal but it was crass & wrong of me.
— Joe Brolly (@JoeBrolly1993) May 21, 2014
He tweeted in May 2014: “"Sky = TV3 plus Baywatch Babe”. The slight on her colleague left McQueen furious:
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