Today marks International Women's Day, a day on which we celebrate the achievements of women, while recommitting ourselves to achieving greater gender equality.

Some labour statistics for women in the workplace from 1900 gives us a snapshot of what sorts of opportunities were available in the UK to our grandmothers and great-grandmothers:

Domestic Servants: 1,740,800
Teachers: 124,000
Nurses: 68,000
Doctors: 212
Architects: 2

'Teachers' is a bit misleading as most female teachers worked in junior or nursery schools. Secondary schools were staffed by male teachers (see www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-role-of-british-women-in-the-twentieth-century/women-in-1900). The suggestion of women in sport would have attracted bemused smirks at best but more likely, social ostracism.

Opportunities for women have certainly expanded in the past six score years but gender equality remains more of an aspiration than a reality. Still, history teaches us that social change, especially for the better, is often slow and incremental. At Sheffield United FC, we are proud of our efforts to embed and accelerate greater gender equality. Our women's team are role models and an inspiration for the next generation of players. This season the team played at Bramall Lane and had a record attendance of over 4,000 fans. The club will continue to champion and show our support for the women's team and recognise the fantastic contribution that they make to women's football. The opportunities to celebrate women's football here at Sheffield United will continue into July when we will be hosting four games for the UEFA Women's EUROs. We are very much looking forward to welcoming Holland, Sweden and Switzerland to Bramall Lane.

This year's theme for International Women's Day is about Breaking The Bias and challenging attitudes and perceptions of women in football. We stand for the propositions that all women and all gender identities are respected, valued and included at Sheffield United FC. Across the industry, women working in coaching roles and in senior leadership roles are still in the minority. The club continues to work to the FA's Football Leadership Diversity Code and Premier League's Equality Standard. As part of this work, we have committed to working to readdress the gender imbalance in the football industry, particularly within coaching and leadership roles.

Football has come a long way, but we are still hearing sexist chanting on the terraces which are deeply offensive and perpetuate the message that women and girls are not welcome in football. Each and every one of us has a role to play in helping to call out all forms of discrimination in football, including discrimination based on gender.

Sheffield United FC is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion and we take a zero tolerance stance on all forms of discrimination, including discrimination based on gender. We want everyone to feel safe and welcome at Bramall Lane. If you witness any incident of discrimination in football online or during a match then you can report it to a steward or can report using either of the following methods:
The Board will continue to promote an inclusive culture that encourages greater diversity and is committed to playing a meaningful role in helping to inspire the next generation of women and girls to become professional football players and leaders in the football industry.

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You can report an incident directly to the club using our complaints procedure:
Tel: 0114 253 7200 Email: complaints@SUFC.co.uk

Alternatively you can report an incident of sexism in football to #HerGameToo at:
www.hergametoo.co.uk/report

For all other incidents of discrimination in football you can make a report to Kick It Out using their App or through the following methods:
Tel: 0800 169 9414 Email: report@kickitout.org

A message on International Women's Day from Chairman Yusuf Giansiracusa