Kate Marks

During her time at Cambridge, Kate was involved with the Cambridge based LGBT+ charity Encompass and Pride Sports ‘Play with Pride’ initiative. She was the Access Officer for the Women’s Sport Osprey’s Society, and volunteered for ‘Out and About Queering the Museum’, a National Lottery Heritage-funded project seeking to explore the LGBT+ history at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter.

 

Kate advocated for Cambridge Rugby’s participation in the Stonewall Rainbow laces campaign, and as a result both the men’s and women’s Blues’ teams wore the laces at Twickenham Stadium in the Varsity Match 2018.

 

Since starting her PhD at the Carnegie School of Sport, Centre for Sport and Social Justice at Leeds Beckett University in 2021, Kate has been part of a small research team focussed on social justice. This has included; collaborating with LBU colleagues to analyse all UK NGB’s transgender participation policies, working with Women in Sport and the RFU on development of their gender allyship training, embedded research with the RFU Injured Players Foundation identifying the benefits of outdoor activities for those with spinal cord disabilities, supporting World Triathlon with research on gender equity, undertaking research with UK Sport and UK Coaching to understand the gendered experiences of high-performance coaches. She is also a member of the university’s LGBT+ group, the Rainbow Rose Forum.

 

Kate’s research aimed at improving equality, diversity, and inclusion strategy within sports leadership settings, particularly focused on gender equity for volunteer leaders within Rugby Union, is inspired by Black feminist theory, particularly the work of Audre Lorde, taking intersectionality as both methodology and theoretical framework to explore how women in voluntary decision-making positions within Rugby Union experience leadership and power. Her understanding of theoretical approaches, particularly intersectionality, is also informed by the MPhil study she undertook at Cambridge, where she focussed on LGBT+ communities and radical lesbian feminist thinking in the USA. Throughout her PhD and MPhil research, Kate spoken up for equality and used her academic voice to bring to light the stories and experiences of those who have previously been marginalised in research.

 

Outside of her academic work, for the last three years Kate been campaigning for transgender inclusion in sport. This has included lobbying the England Rugby Football Union, advising other sports national governing bodies in the development of their policies, and supporting individual athletes in better understanding the existing policies to facilitate participation.

 

Kate continues to play rugby at a high level in the BUCS Northern Premiership, and has represented England at Aussie Rules Football (AFL).