A new crisis has arisen for Cricket Scotland in the wake of the release of a damning report that criticizes the organization’s culture and stance regarding women.
An independent and unbiased assessment conducted by a prominent Scottish human resources firm, the McKinney Report, identified a “significant level of bias against female staff and players” at Cricket Scotland. The report further stated that “outmoded attitudes and conduct towards women in the sport continue to persist, especially at the club level.”
The 35-page report, which was released on Monday, arrives precisely two years after an additional independent review, “Changing the Boundaries” conducted by Plan4Sport, determined Cricket Scotland to be institutionally discriminatory in July 2022.
On the eve of the publication of that document, which uncovered 448 distinct instances of racism and discrimination in Scottish cricket, the complete Cricket Scotland board tendered their resignations.
Behaviors, cultures, and practices within Cricket Scotland were examined by the McKinney report in the two years preceding the release of the Changing the Boundaries report in 2022. Culture and inclusion, leadership, general behaviors, employment practices and wellbeing, psychological safety, and discrimination and misogyny comprised its six major themes.
Priorities of the nine recommendations are broad conduct in nature, as well as the eradication of discrimination and misogyny.
“This report is a damning indictment of the treatment of female players and staff within our organization,” stated Cricket Scotland’s CEO, Trudy Lindblade. The fact that Cricket Scotland permitted behaviors that were detrimental, derogatory, and extremely troubling to persist for a substantial duration is indisputable.
“This is completely unacceptable, and I wholeheartedly apologize to every single person who was affected and let down by the governing body.
“This report also highlights the huge amount of work that we need to do throughout cricket in Scotland to improve the standing of women and girls within our sport.
“We are committed to making the governing body and our sport welcoming and safe for all women and girls, and together with our regional associations and clubs we will work collectively to ensure there is no place for misogyny, sexism, or discrimination of any kind within our sport. Our new strategy, which is to be released shortly, will put the health and growth of women and girls’ cricket at its forefront.
“Several of the recommendations from the McKinney Report are already underway, but there is still a significant amount of work to be done by Cricket Scotland, our regions, and our clubs to affect the change that is needed.
“Cricket Scotland now has a robust disciplinary and complaints process in place, and I would strongly urge anyone who has been affected by the findings of the report and who feels they need to raise a complaint to use this process. These recently established processes demonstrate that Cricket Scotland is capable of handling matters in a transparent and considered manner.”
