Despite strong evidence to suggest that organisational boards with female representatives are higher performing*, women currently hold less than 25 per cent of board positions in national sporting organisations.

The Australian Government, through the Sport Leadership Grants and Scholarships for Women program, is supporting women to change this statistic and enhance leadership across the sport sector by increasing Australia’s talent pool of future female sport leaders.

International Women’s Day marked the opening of applications for the program by Minister for Sport, Senator the Hon. Kate Lundy, and Minister for the Status of Women, the Hon. Julie Collins.

‘This program is now in its eleventh consecutive year and has played an important role in getting more women into senior roles in the sporting community,’ said Senator Lundy.

‘Women make a valuable contribution to sport in Australia, and the Australian Government unashamedly supports a future for women with ambition in sport, whether it is in participation, administration, volunteering or coaching.’

The 2012–13 program will provide $400,000 in funding for women to undertake accredited sport leadership training in the areas of coaching, officiating, governance, administration and management, as well as communications, media and marketing.

Grant and scholarship recipients will also attend a two-day residential leadership workshop to further develop skills to enable them to reach their leadership potential.

Sport leadership grants of up to $5000 for individuals and $10 000 for organisations are available, as well as sport leadership pathway scholarships of up to $10 000 per annum for three years.

‘The program has been very popular in the past and has supported more than 20 000 women since its inception in 2002, with a total funding allocation of more than $3.7 million,’ Ms Collins said.

‘The program has helped many women in sport and has contributed to the careers of people like Diana Taylor, who is a Board member of AFL club Geelong, and the Chief Executive of Women’s Golf Victoria, Bronwen Young.

‘These are just a couple of the examples of women making their mark in sport, but there is still plenty of work to do to ensure greater participation of women in sport.’

The Sport Leadership Grants and Scholarships for Women program is an Australian Government initiative managed by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and the Office for Women.

To find out more about the Sport Leadership Grants and Scholarships for Women program, or to submit an application, visit the ASC website. Applications close on 27 April.

*Reference: SA Premier’s Council for Women, Submission 57, pp. 20–1.