Kick It Out chairman Lord Ouseley believes that the appointment of a male manager to lead the England women's team is sending the wrong message.
Mark Sampson, who is a former Bristol academy manager, was named the team's boss in December 2013 following the departure of Hope Powell.
Sampson has a winning record of 10 from 13 games in charge, but Ouseley believes that replacing a female coach with a man is an "insult" to the women's game.
"I don't think it's very helpful if you are trying to promote the women's game, having got rid of a woman who was quite successful, that you then go for a man," Ouseley told Sky Sports News.
"However successful he's going to be I think the future for women's football is that you want women at the top of women's football.
"I think it's a negative way of doing things because what does it say to the women coaches coming through? I think it's an insult to women to appoint a man to that job. I absolutely do."
Powell coached the women's team for 15 years.
