Zoe Webber has acknowledged that it was unpleasant to receive internet taunts at various points in her Norwich City career that referred to her as “Webber’s wife.
” In a film for the Canaries Trust to commemorate Mental Health Awareness Day with a focus on women in football, Webber talked candidly about her experiences dealing with criticism on social media.
Despite not being in charge of the football operations at Carrow Road and having built a career on the strength of her 25 years of expertise, the City CEO, who is married to former City sporting director Stuart, has frequently seen her marriage used as a rod with which to beat her.
Webber was succeeded by Ben Knapper in November of last year, but she has stayed on to manage the off-pitch operations and chair the executive team. Webber describes how those remarks have inevitably affected her during her time at Norwich and how she has responded to them. “Stu probably taught me this lesson because, when he first started here, he used social media excessively, which had a seriously detrimental effect on his mental health. I don’t read it, nor do I look at it.
“So much of it is coming from a place where maybe somebody doesn’t have all the information I’ve got when I’ve made a decision.”One area in which I’ve found great difficulty is being referred to as ‘Webber’s wife’. Since it’s often used in such a disparaging tone, that has been an extremely difficult task for me. It’s never a good ending. “I’ve put forth a lot of effort to build a career in this incredible field for the past 25 years, but people only call me that because I married a coworker. “You grow a hard shell and ignore it, but it undermines your confidence when you have to lead others at work. You have to force yourself to walk through the door wearing a mask and a brave face.”
I don’t think people give it much thought or consider the person who is speaking for them. They don’t know the effect of what they say on the individuals they’re talking it about, and you nearly become a character.”
These difficulties and obstacles are not limited to social media or even the stands; they have also shown up in boardrooms and meetings where City has been represented.
Webber, in her current position, frequently speaks on behalf of the Canaries at league-wide events and remains perplexed by the lack of diversity among senior officials at the highest levels of the English game. Webber conceded, “It’s a really interesting dynamic.” “I feel much more at ease today, maybe because I’ve been in and around the game for a long time. We had a championship call earlier this week with all of my colleagues, and I am the only female, which I believe is a sad state of affairs in this day and age. It’s rather intriguing. The only reason was that I was thinking, “I’m the only female,” because everything was on TV.
It really isn’t about having to shout louder; rather, it’s about being at ease and self-assured enough to speak up in that situation. That has occasionally become a problem for me in those settings. “You need to discover your voice and have faith that it will be heard in large, intimidating groups. “I’ve moved over that stage now, and I feel really secure and at ease in those situations, but putting oneself out there may be difficult. It wouldn’t serve as an example for others to follow if I simply said, “I’m a woman, so I won’t push myself, so it will be difficult to achieve this.” “To do that, you must grow tough skin, put up some walls and ignore the situation.”
Throughout her career, Webber has held positions as a football administrator in a number of prestigious companies, such as the Football Association before relocating to Carrow Road and gaining access to boardrooms, and Liverpool, where she helped with high-profile transfer dealings. Over that path, she has had to overcome obstacles while always proving herself because of her sexual orientation. She talks about an eye-opening experience she had last season while representing Norwich on a visit to a Championship rival, which highlights the further development that needs to happen in the game.
“I had a situation last season where I was in another club’s boardroom, and one of their directors came over and shook hands with the other five members of the executive team, got to me, and then turned around and walked away,” she said.
In all honesty, it enraged all of those coworkers more than it did me. They were furious over it. That’s the difficult part because you feel like you’re not appreciated or acknowledged, so you withdraw within yourself. You have to overcome that mental obstacle on your own.”
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