The Leaky Pipeline

Understanding the Leaky Pipeline

Why are so few women coaching at high performance level in Australia?

A coaching career in Australia’s high performance (HP) sport system can be complex to navigate—and women coaches face additional, often systemic barriers.

The departure issue

From the experiences shared by current and former coaches, women leave the Australian HP sport system at multiple points across their careers. The result is a ‘leaky’ talent pipeline and a persistent gender gap in head coaching roles. Naming what drives these exits—and acting on it—is essential to retain talent and build sustainable pathways for women in HP coaching. The Leaky Pipeline maps where and why coaching talent is lost across the career lifecycle.

The WiHPC Pipeline

The WiHPC Pipeline brings to life ten typical personas and connects you to practical resources to help organisations respond to the challenges women coaches face. Explore the pipeline to better understand lived experience—and identify where you can make the greatest impact.

View the WiHPC Pipeline Interactive , opens in a new tabhere.

Road Map to Action

The road map has been designed to impact upon the entry, detours and exits to the Leaky Pipeline. Utilising the Road Map can help identify and prioritise actions to increase representation, retention and visibility of women in high performance coaching.

Both the Road Map and the Leaky Pipeline have embedded resources. Utilising the Road Map in collaboration with the Leaky Pipeline can provide individuals, clubs and organisations with a range of resources and activities. Click below to see the WiHPC Road Map.

Global Resources

There are an enormous number of global resources to support the Leaky Pipeline. Here are a few high priority resources available to you.