LAST year, Owen Jones, the Guardian columnist, wrote a book called 'The Establishment: And How They Get Away With It." He may not have been talking about sport but the sentiment applies all the same, right?

The establishment always wins in the end, doesn't it? Well actually, not always and Eileen Gray, who died last month at the age of 95, proved this.

Were it not for Gray, women's cycling would be far less advanced than it is today. When she began cycling in war-torn London in the 1940s, Gray did so as a means of transport. She developed a love of the sport and joined the Apollo Cycling Club - one of the few clubs that would permit women - but at that time, there were no international competitions for women. After being invited to take part in an exhibition track race in Copenhagen in 1946, Gray caught the bug and vowed to improve opportunities within the sport for women.

In the coming years, Gray founded the Women's Track Racing Association and persuaded the UCI to recognise women's world records which was a milestone that helped women's competitive cycling gain momentum. Gray's push to gain recognition for women's cycling was met with significant resistance though - one of the top British male cyclists of the time had women banned entirely from a particular track although Gray said of the opposition to her cause that "it only made us more determined to succeed". In another instance, at an event in Leipzig, a male colleague drove off with the women's spare tyres and inner tubes in an attempt to scupper their chances in the race.

But Gray was undeterred. She continued her quest for equality, becoming president of the British Cycling Federation and vice-chair of the British Olympic Committee and fighting endlessly for equality while holding those posts. Gray worked tirelessly to get women's cycling admitted to the Olympic Games, eventually succeeding in 1984. Women's cycling may still not be on a par with its male equivalent just yet but without Gray, it would be far less progressive than it is.

Another example that is particularly pertinent in proving just how valuable one single person's actions can be is with Title IX in the United States. Title IX is a federal law which declares that: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." Basically, Title IX put a stop to females being discriminated against in college sport and it came about as a result of the actions of one individual. In 1969, Bernice Sandler used an executive order to fight for her job at the University of Maryland. Her complaint began as an employment issue but quickly spread to many other areas. A year later, Sandler proposed Title IX and in the past forty-odd years, Title IX has ensured that female athletes receive equal treatment to their male counterparts. Sandler has since called the introduction of the bill "the most important step for gender equality since the 19th Amendment gave us the right to vote." The number of females participating in college sport in America jumped from 294,015 in 1971-72 to 3,172,637 in 2009-10, an increase of 1079 per cent, almost all due to Title IX. Title IX has faced its challenges along the way but it has revolutionised college sport in the country; female athletes are no longer given inferior treatment whether it be funding or facilities or support. And while there have been many who picked up the baton from Sandler in the intervening 45 years, it was she who took the fight to the establishment in what, on the face of it, seemed an almost unwinnable battle.

There are other examples; Billie Jean King set the ball rolling for parity for women in tennis; now the sport is the greatest example of equality in all global sports. King is still cited by modern-day female players as the individual who created the thriving environment that they find themselves in today.

Similarly, Deedee Corradini, the President of Women's Ski Jumping USA won the fight to get women's ski-jumping included in the winter Olympics just last year, despite the president of the International Ski Federation saying that women should not take part in the sport because: "It seems not appropriate for ladies from a medical point of view." He implied that their uteruses may fall out. Yes, really.

None of these women tackled their causes single-handedly. They all had help and support along the way but the unique thing about each and every one of these cases of sexism is that these women fought against what, at times, must have seemed like insurmountable forces, yet they continued until they finally prevailed. And so these women prove that no matter how tough the fight seems or how powerful the establishment that is to be defeated is, every battle is there to be won, no matter how unlikely it may seem.