Leadership and governance

• How Long Does It Take to Help Advance Women? 36 Minutes a Week, JPMorgan Chase & Co, (accessed 6 April 2023). It’s widely known that women face unique barriers to professional success. While shining a light on this challenge is important, real progress requires actionable solutions. That’s why JPMorgan Chase launched its 30-5-1 campaign internally last year. The message is simple and it’s easy to participate:
  • Spend 30 minutes a week having coffee with a talented up and coming woman.
  • Spend 5 minutes a week congratulating a female colleague on a win or success.
  • Spend 1 minute a week talking up the woman who had that win to other colleagues around the firm.
• Tennis Australia aim to boost female leadership in regional sport arrives in Albury Wodonga, opens in a new tab, Callum Marshall, ABC Goulburn Murray, (4 March 2023). The Women Leaders in Tennis program has been running for about 18 months with more than 200 women across the country taking part. Casey Dellacqua says women are performing only 26 per cent of president roles in Australia's tennis clubs. The Tennis Australia program is aiming to support 1,000 women to have leadership roles in the sport by 2024.
• Paving the way: ASTN-WiST power 100+ list of leading women in sports innovation, opens in a new tab, Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN), (28 February 2023). Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) and Women in Sports Tech (WiST) have today released a new report ‘Paving the way for Sports Innovation in Australia’ to recognise and celebrate more than 100 women who are leading sports innovation across Australia within government, industry, sporting institutions, universities and high-performance sport within Australia.
• There are plenty of pathways for women to become leaders in sport, but are they working?, opens in a new tab Amanda Shalala, ABC, (12 June 2022). As girls and women's participation in sport steadily grows, we've all heard the call to action for women in senior leadership positions to follow. So, while sporting fields fill with many more girls and women, is the same happening in senior executive roles and in boardrooms?
• Challenge who rules to change the rules: Women, sport and leadership in Australia, opens in a new tab, Ruth Jeanes and Jerril Rechter, Monash University, (8 March 2021). While participation in sport by women is growing, with more women and girls playing a breadth of sports, the number of women taking on senior leadership roles in sport remains low. In 2021, there are no women CEOs leading sports that are part of the coalition of major professional and participation sports (which includes netball – the CEO role is currently vacant – tennis, rugby union, rugby league, football, the AFL, and cricket), and across other national sporting associations (including disability sporting associations), just 23% have women in senior leadership roles (CEO or equivalent). Women struggle to gain access to significant leadership opportunities, but when they do, they generally enter a hostile, masculinised environment where they’re disproportionately scrutinised and their abilities questioned, and even their appearances criticised.
• Influential figures on the contribution of women to science in athletics, opens in a new tab, World Athletics, (11 February 2021). According to data for 2014 to 2016 produced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), only about 30% of all female students select fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics in higher education. But in recent years, World Athletics has worked with a growing group of women scientists who are bucking that trend. And to mark this special day, World Athletics has spoken to four of them.
• Leigh Russell’s hard slog at the helm of Swimming Australia, opens in a new tab[paywall], Wayne Smith, The Australian, (24 November 2020). Did she encounter problems at Swimming Australia because she was a woman? “That’s difficult to answer,” Russell replies. “The short answer is that when you are ‘the other’ – there are very few female coaches, very few female administrators – you are up against a traditionally male level of thinking. It’s not overt. It’s covert. It is a hard slog.”
• Influencing Gender Equity through an Infographic, opens in a new tab, Anna Sherwood, Melissa Sullivan, and Melissa Grandberg, SIRC blog, (4 November 2020). On the 2019 International Day of the Girl, the Valley Female Leadership Network (VFLN), in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, posted an infographic on the status of girls and women’s participation and leadership in sport and recreation. The infographic was shared across the country, but most importantly used by the VFLN and their stakeholders as a tool to increase support for female-only programming in the Valley. This blog is the story of our infographic.
• The Inclusion of Men in Gender Equity Efforts, opens in a new tab, W. Brad Johnson, David G. Smith, TLNT, (21 October 2020). Not only does greater gender diversity and gender balance in leadership lead to better financial outcomes, creativity, and mission success, there is now clear evidence that when men are deliberately engaged in gender DEI efforts, 96% of women in those organizations see real progress in gender equity and inclusion versus only 30% of women when men in their organizations are seen as disengaged.
• Showcasing women in sports performance roles: wrapping up 18 women in sport interviews, opens in a new tab, Catapult, (7 October 2020). For the past 12 months, we’ve been speaking with the practitioners that have been paving the way for women in sports performance. Below are links to 18 stories with 18 powerful, hard-working, innovative women who inspire us. Women interviewed include: Tania Gallo, Head Sports Scientist, North Melbourne FC; Tahleya Eggers, Sports Scientist, Parramatta Eels; Suzy Russell, Mental Health Project Manager, Queensland Rugby Union; Dr. Shona Halson, Associate Professor in the School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University; Rachel Finlay, Head Sports Scientist, Tasman United; Natalia Bittencourt. Physical Therapist, Scientific Committee of the IOC World Conference on Sports Injury Prevention; Naomi Datson. Senior Lecturer in Sports Performance Analysis, University of Chichester; Michelle Truncali, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, University of Notre Dame; Kate Starre, High Performance Manager, Fremantle Dockers (AFLW); Júlia Vergueiro, President, Pelado Real Futebol Clube; Hannah Jowitt, International Pathways Analyst, England and Wales Cricket Board; Georgie Bruinvels, Research Scientist, Orreco; Cheryl Cox, Athletic Performance Coach, University of California-Berkeley; Alivia del Basso. Strength and Conditioning Coach, West Coast Eagles (AFLW); Alice Sweeting, Sports Scientist, Western Bulldogs; Minky Tshabalala. Sports Science Manager, University of Johannesburg; Mar Alvarez, Head of Strength and Conditioning, Spanish National Rugby Team; Heidi Thornton, Head of Sports Science, Gold Coast Suns.
• Why a female athlete should be your next leader, opens in a new tab, Kristy Ingram, EY, (23 September 2020). EY research highlights the important role sport plays at every stage of professional women’s lives – from girls to C-suite executives. In brief: When they enter the boardroom, women athletes have a unique advantage by thriving on competition, determination and a strong work ethic; Sport participation helps girls grow up healthy and confident, helps young female leaders rise, and helps C-suite leaders succeed; Our findings show that 94% of C-suite women have played sports, demonstrating that sport participation can propel them into successful business careers.
• Embedding female leaders in the heart of New Zealand sports, opens in a new tab, Suzanne McFadden, LockerRoom and stuff.co.nz, (27 August 2020). Across 28 targeted sports in New Zealand, there are only four women appointed as high performance directors or managers. Less than a quarter of the country’s 114 carded coaches (who receive support from HPSNZ) are female. The woman leading the Women in High Performance Sport project, Sonia Boland, says there’s no shortage of talented and capable females wanting a career in high performance sport, but there is a failure within the system to support their progression through the ranks. Through that pilot project, there are now eight female coaches and leaders who have been placed directly into the high performance programmes of national sports organisations. And another 12 emerging women coaches will be paired up with experienced mentors as part of Te Hāpaitanga, a development project to expand the female coaching talent pool.
• Female membership of IOC Commissions reaches an all-time high of 47.7 per cent - Two new female chairs, opens in a new tab, International Olympic Committee, (28 May 2020). This all-time high is a concrete manifestation of one of the key focuses of the Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms—to encourage the whole Olympic movement to advance gender equality both on and off the field. Since 2013, as a result of Olympic Agenda 2020, female participation in the IOC commissions has more than doubled (up from 20% in 2013).
• 6 women in sport on sexism, progress and what’s needed next, opens in a new tab, Jessica Halloran, Vogue, (16 December 2019). For a long time, the notion of women in sport was met with scorn, condescension and blatant sexism, but times have changed. Here, award-winning sports journalist Jessica Halloran, who has witnessed the victories for female athletes on and off the field in recent years, champions the trailblazing women behind the movement and explores what’s still needed to achieve gender equality.
• Male-dominated sports organisations getting desperate for women, as time runs out, opens in a new tab, Olivia Caldwell, stuff.co.nz , (3 July 2019). For five years, Sport New Zealand has been pushing sports organisations to get more women on their boards. Last month, its patience gave out, when it announcing a 'do-it-or-else' funding ultimatum to the laggards. The gender target for boards must be reached by December 2021, or funding will be on the line. NZ Rugby has an 87.5 per cent male board, Basketball NZ is 85.8 per cent, while three-quarters of Netball NZ's board is female.
• #WorldAtHerFeet: Women’s Football Shatters Records but Obstacles Still Stand in Way of Progress, says BCW report, opens in a new tab, sportanddev.org , (29 May 2019). 2019 is shaping up to be a year of transformation for women’s football with record-breaking crowds, major sponsorship deals and increasing levels of coverage. The Women’s World Cup (7 June to 7 July) could reach a billion viewers and eclipse the cricket and rugby world cups, but obstacles still stand in the way of progress and equality in the female game, according to the #WorldAtHerFeet report unveiled today by BCW (Burson Cohn and Wolfe).
• Building a pipeline of female sports leaders, opens in a new tab, Matthew Campelli, Sustainability Report, (12 March 2019). Despite progress being made by some sports organisations, representation of women at leadership level is still low. How can the sector overcome its ‘pipeline problem’?
• Balance the Board, opens in a new tab, Victorian Government Change our Game media, (2019). By 1 July 2019, all sport and active recreation organisations funded by Sport and Recreation Victoria and the Victorian Government will be expected to comply with the mandatory 40% women on boards quota. Organisations that are not at the mandatory quota by 1 July 2019 risk losing funding through the Supporting Victorian Sport and Recreation program.
• Mandatory Board Quotas, opens in a new tab, VicSport, (2019). Dr Bridie O'Donnell, Head, Office for Women and Sport and Recreation along with a few state sport associations share their insights as to how they are taking action in order to meet the mandatory board quota by July 1 2019.
• Five Ways Men Can Improve Gender Diversity at Work, opens in a new tab, Matt Krentz, Olivier Wierzba, Katie Abouzahr, et al., BCG, (10 October 2017). When companies try to fix this problem, they often center their efforts solely on women. Experience shows, however, that this is not enough to bring about material change. Such a narrow focus essentially walls off gender diversity as a women-only issue instead of positioning it as a broader topic that has a significant effect on overall company performance. What’s more, at most companies, women who try to generate meaningful change on their own find that they are too few in number to produce the necessary impact. Men need to join their efforts in order to succeed. A key finding from our research is that the career obstacles women face, such as being overlooked for promotions, tend to be institutional, with deep roots in the organization’s culture. Many women stall out in middle management—or step off the career track entirely—not because of explicit discrimination or lack of ambition but rather because of many small factors and daily hassles. Worldwide, our data shows that among companies where men are actively involved in gender diversity, 96% report progress. Conversely, among companies where men are not involved, only 30% show progress.
• Developing gender equality indicators in sports, opens in a new tab, European Institute for Gender Equality, Council of Europe, (January 2016). This Microsoft PowerPoint presentation highlights some of the strategic goals for gender equality, current state and examples of policies to promote gender-balanced participation in decision-making in sport.
• Women on Boards, opens in a new tab, Play by the Rules, (2015). Play by the Rules has devised a short list of ideas to help your club or sport organisation encourage more women to get involved in leadership.
• Getting results on women in leadership: Employers must ditch what they think works and do what actually works, opens in a new tab, Diversity Council Australia, (27 February 2014). The Diversity Council Australia (DCA) has reviewed a range of the latest research on leadership and concluded that many programs aimed at increasing the representation of women are failing to deliver results. Current evidence suggests that some initiatives are more effective than others. In particular: actively sponsoring women into leadership positions; addressing bias at every level; adopting broader definitions of what leadership looks like; and public accountability via reporting on measurable outcomes, may actually deliver results. This article provides an overview of what strategies appear to work and which do not.

• Routledge Handbook of the Business of Women's Sport, opens in a new tab, Nancy Lough, Andrea Geurin (eds.), Routledge, (2019). Featuring international perspectives, with authors from North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, and in-depth profiles of real leaders within different sectors of women's sport in the global sport industry, this book offers an integrated understanding of the ways traditional media and social media impact both the understanding and advancement of women’s sport properties, businesses, teams, and athletes. Case studies show how societal issues such as gender, power, and framing impact the business of women’s sports and those who work in women’s sport.

• A guide for action: To encourage women from culturally diverse backgrounds as leaders in sport, opens in a new tab, Victoria University, (2020). A resource for sport organisations to assist attract and retain women from culturally diverse backgrounds as leaders in sport. It was developed based on insights gained from women from culturally diverse backgrounds in Australia. Based on the findings, five strategies are recommended for sport organisations including:
  • Even the 'playing field'
  • Strengthen workplace culture
  • Build support and opportunity
  • Increase visibility of women from culturally diverse backgrounds
  • Welcome women from culturally diverse backgrounds
• Change Our Game Recruitment and Retention Guidelines for Women in Sport and Recreation, opens in a new tab, State of Victoria, Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, (April 2019). Provides simple and practical guidance and strategies to ensure women and girls have rewarding experiences in these roles, making them more likely to stay on at the club. These guidelines focus on the following areas: recruiting women to join your committee; women and girls as leaders outside the committee; and making leadership at your club a rewarding experience for women and girls.
• Seeing capability before disability — a guide for employers, opens in a new tab, Disability Sport and Recreation, (2020). Sport and recreation organisations looking to provide employment and leadership opportunities for women with disability can sometimes find it difficult to know where to start. The guide covers: Understanding the different types of disability; Getting commitment from management; Knowing where to find the appropriate resources; Learning the recruitment process for people with disability; Retaining women with disability in your workforce. It also includes many resources, and a case study, to help organisations navigate the above considerations.

• Women in Sport Leadership, opens in a new tab, Canadian Women & Sport, (February 2022). Public attention, and dedicated funding from Sport Canada, is driving change for the national sport system. Compared to 2019, after the government commitment was announced, the percentage of women holding board seats has jumped by 5 points. That means 45 more women are at the table than three years ago. Sport is ahead of “corporate” Canada, with women holding 49% of executive leadership positions at national sport vs just 18% for TSX-listed companies and Canadian Business Corporations Act corporations subject to disclosure requirements.
  • Provincial and Territorial women in sport leadership, opens in a new tab, Canadian Women & Sport, (July 2022). Similar report to the national report, but focussed on provincial and territorial sport organizations (PTSO) that have significant influence in grassroots sport, which makes them leaders in the sport system in Canada.
• Women Leadership in Sport: research update, opens in a new tab, Werthner, P., E-Alliance, (2020). Members of the E-Alliance research community have collected some of their most recent and relevant findings to help introduce E-Alliance’s priorities. These findings have been translated into infographics that are now available online and will also be shared on social media in the coming weeks.

• Mandated gender equity targets in sport, opens in a new tab, Senator The Hon Katy Gallagher, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, (10 September 2024). More women will have more opportunities at boardroom tables following the launch of the National Gender Equity in Sport Governance Policy, which addresses the under representation of women in sports leadership. The national policy is the first of its kind in Australia and is a collaboration between the Australian Government, Australian Sports Commission (ASC), and the State and Territory Agencies for Sport and Recreation. This will require the Australian sport sector to reach the following standards by July 1 2027: 50% of all board directors are women and/or gender diverse; 50% of board chairs are women and/or gender diverse; 50% of specified board sub-committee members are women and/or gender diverse.
• ASC Welcomes Gender Equity Policy, Australian Sports Comission, (10 September 2024). The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) has welcomed a new policy that will ensure sporting boardrooms across the country meet gender equity targets or risk funding being withheld.
• Sport Integrity Australia CEO David Sharpe calls for more women in leadership roles in sport,, opens in a new tabSport Integrity Australia, (13 November 2020). Mr Sharpe said his agency is invested in promoting equality in Australian sport and is working to ensure there is gender parity in the leadership within Sport Integrity Australia. “Sport Integrity Australia commenced on 1 July 2020 and the new executive team has a 50% gender balance. Along with this around 46% of our senior leadership are women leaders. Those numbers still need to improve and we are committed to that. We have a number of development initiatives in place to address this.” Of the 68 funded National Sporting Organisations less than 13% have a female CEO and only 26% have a female Chair.
• The dial is shifting for gender equality in sport – just not fast enough, opens in a new tab, Kate Palmer, Australian Sports Commission, (8 March 2019). This op-ed, written for International Women's Day 2019, highlights that the quest for gender equality in sport has come a long way, but the starting point was a long way behind. Women comprise 24% of CEOs across the 63 national sporting organisations funded by the Australian Sports Commission. The number across the high performance coaching system is 15%, while a mere 9% of accredited Australian Olympic coaches in Rio were female. The ASX shares this historic under-representation, which does not make it right.
• Let's stop calling it women's sport, Kate Palmer, Australian Sports Commission, (7 February 2019). It’s time to rewrite the language of Australian sport. We need to drop the unnecessary, divisive labels and erase the gender bias that has become accepted and ingrained. We have made one of the biggest shifts in the participation of women in sport in this country in the past five years, while the tipping point at the elite level came with the recent growth of domestic professional leagues and the rising profiles of national teams. But let’s not be complacent, because we still need to keep growing the role of women in sport. We need to create more opportunity for participation, for developing leaders and coaches and for increasing the number and importance of female roles across all levels of sport. We must continue to build on the significant progress that has already been made.

• Board gender diversity, opens in a new tab, Sport NZ, (accessed 29 March 2023). In October 2018 Sport NZ launched its commitment to supporting funded partners to make organisational change and achieve a board gender diversity target. This initiative has been highly successful. As of December 2021, 65 out of 66 qualifying Sport NZ-funded partners have achieved a gender balance on their boards of 40 percent or more self-identified women.
  • Evaluation of Sport NZ Ihi Aotearoa’s National Policy for Gender Equity in Governance, opens in a new tab, Dr Jo Cribb, Sport NZ, (September 2022). This qualitative evaluation of the implementation of the policy found that building a pool of board-ready women, focusing on supporting boards with their recruitment processes, and supporting chairs were key to success. To achieve the quota, the attitudes and behaviours of some incumbent board members needed to be challenged, constitutions and deeds modernised, and women needed to be encouraged to apply. The results of having more women on the qualifying boards have been an overall improvement in the quality of governance and board dynamics, more conversations about women and girls at the board table, more women in chair roles and more consideration of wider diversity opportunities, especially biculturalism. However, such changes are not fully embedded or guaranteed sustainable, and there is no compelling evidence that the governance conversations are resulting in strategic prioritisation of women’s and girl’s initiatives.
• Women in Turf Strategy, opens in a new tab, Australian Sports Turf Managers Association (ASTMA), (June 2022). Women continue to be underrepresented in the sports turf management industry; with females making up only 1.4% of qualified trade workers, and the Women in Turf Strategy developed by the Association aims to redress this gender and diversity balance. This strategy has been developed in response to the disproportionately low number of females undertaking apprenticeships in Sports Turf Management and the currently low volume of females right across the Sports Turf Management industry.
• Inclusive Swimming Framework 2020-2022, opens in a new tab, Swimming Australia, (December 2020). While swimming has a long and proud egalitarian history with many positive outcomes for inclusion already achieved, there is more work to do. The snapshot below provides some current statistics regarding diversity within our membership audiences: 59% Female swimmers v 15% female coaches. One out of nine female CEOs, with 41% female Board members across the SA network. The Framework commits to several initiatives during 2020/21 and 2021/22 including:
  • Developing and implementing a Women’s Coaching Strategy
  • Implementing a Workplace Sexual Harassment Policy
  • Maintaining Champions of Change Coalition partnership
• Golf Australia's Vision 2025: The future of women and girls in golf, opens in a new tab, Golf Australia, (February 2019). On 13 February 2019, Golf Australia launched a new strategy aiming at addressing a fundamental imbalance in Australian golf where women currently make up just 20% of all members. The four main pillars of Vision 2025 are: culture and leadership; grassroots; high performance coaching; and marketing and postitioning.
• No boundaries for women and girls in sport and physical activity, opens in a new tab, Australian Women in Sport Advisory Group, (2019). Our vision is that there are no boundaries for women and girls in sport and physical activity. Our goal is to achieve this by 2025, but what does it look like, and how will we know when we have made it? Here we set out what we are striving for, actions to take and measures of success. Key members of the sport sector, governments and industry are onboard.
• Women on Boards Strategy 2020-2025, opens in a new tab, Communities, Sport and Recreation, Department of Communities Tasmanian, (November 2020). Relevant to sport is Focus Area 4: Action 14: Increase women’s representation on every eligible state sporting organisation board to targets of 20 per cent by 2020, 30 per cent by 2021 and 40 per cent by 2022. Under the new requirements, SSOs are required to have a gender diverse board or committee, with no less than 40 per cent representation from any one gender (sports operating under a unitary model are exempt). The requirement is being phased in over three years and from 2022, SSOs must have no less than 40 per cent of any one gender to be eligible for funding.
  • The March 2021 Women on State Sporting Organisation Boards Report, opens in a new tab shows that in 2020, 63 per cent of Tasmanian SSOs had 40 per cent or greater female representation at board level, and there were no SSO boards without female representation.
  • Guidelines, opens in a new tab have also been released to support the participation of women and girls in sport and recreation, which encourage sporting organisations to have diverse representation within leadership positions, including board membership. The Guidelines recommends strategies to increase diversity in leadership, including targeting, promoting, and training women into management and board positions; providing networking and development opportunities for women in leadership positions; and considering caring responsibilities when scheduling times and attendance methods for board meetings.

• Change the Ratio, opens in a new tab, Australian Sports Technologies Network, (June 2022). Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) and Women in Sports Tech (WiST) have today announced a long-term partnership to work together to increase representation of women in the sportstech industry in Australia. WiST, opens in a new tab has a strong reputation in the United States. In five short years, WiST’s unique programs and engaging original content have created a community of nearly 20,000 committed stakeholders and students and the non-profit organisation now has over 32 corporate partners who support their work, in all categories of sports tech. WiST and ASTN will collaborate to run specialised programs, provide mentorship, and work with ASTN members to improve their culture to encourage a more inclusive and diverse workforce.
• Equality and Respect in Sport, opens in a new tab, Our Watch, (accessed 11 April 2023). Our Watch’s Equality and Respect in Sport is an initiative which aims to assist national sporting organisations to build their capacity to promote gender equality. Website provides information on understanding the issue; taking action; ambassadors and media; examples in sport; and tools and resources.
• FIFA Women’s Development Programme, opens in a new tab, (8 September 2020). In line with FIFA’s Women’s Football Strategy, the FIFA Women’s Development Programme aims to provide all 211 member associations with the opportunity to apply for and access additional resources and specialist expertise to develop women’s football at a national level. Member associations will be able to apply for support across 8 key areas of women’s football development during the 2020-2023 period. In addition to financial assistance to cover the costs in selected programmes, the FIFA Women’s Development Programme will also provide member associations with access to women’s football experts, additional equipment and technical support within FIFA to develop women’s football in their country.
• Our Future Female Leaders Program, opens in a new tab, Bowls Australia, (21 August 2020). Our Future Female Leaders Program is tailored to women in management, administration, advisory and coaching roles within Bowls Australia, state and territory associations and clubs Australia-wide.
• Women's mentoring program, opens in a new tab, Surf Life Saving Australia, (2 July 2020). Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) is proud to announce the first ever Women’s Mentoring Program with 40 women from across the country to take part. From the 160 applications received, 20 mentors and 20 mentees were selected to participate in the program which was designed to strengthen leadership skills and develop the next generation of female leaders to position Surf Life Saving for the future.
• World Triathlon resumes the Mentorship Programme, opens in a new tab, Olalla Cernuda, World Triathlon, (1 July 2020). World Triathlon Development, together with the Women’s Committee, is delighted to announce the launch of a re-envisaged World Triathlon Mentor Programme to be delivered virtually, with the goal to increase and sustain the number of women and people with disability in leadership roles in coaching, technical officiating and governance in the sport.
• ALL IN: Towards gender balance in sport, opens in a new tab. European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (COE) joint project, (1 March 2018-31 October 2019). A European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (COE) joint project (1 March 2018-31 October 2019) aimed at providing support to public authorities and sport organisations when designing and implementing policies and programmes addressing gender inequalities in sport, and when adopting a gender mainstreaming strategy.
• The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia, opens in a new tab, Australian Research Council, Linkage Project, (2014). Naming Australia's 20th-century leading women performers in sport is a difficult task because there are so many of note. Browse the list of names in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (SAHOF) and one can see a roll call of household names, women who are not just legends of world sport but important to Australia's sense of itself as a sporting nation. This ‘encyclopaedia’ provides a profile on women who have been elite athletes, administrators, coaches, and role models to generations of Australian women.

• 2024 Survey: Female representation in the highest executive organs of international sports federations, opens in a new tab, (2024). the survey analyzed the leadership composition of 31 International Federations (IFs) that are members of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF). These results shed light on the progress of women’s representation in executive positions across various sports organizations.
  • The data shows a clear, yet gradual increase in female representation in top executive roles: from 18.3% in 2019 to 28.8% in 2024. Although the growth is promising, there remains a significant gap in achieving gender parity in sports governance.
  • The survey also explored the leadership of National Olympic Committees (NOCs). Of the 206 NOCs worldwide, only 24 are presided over by women, accounting for a mere 11.65%. This demonstrates the need for a more concerted effort to promote female leadership in these influential positions.
• The volunteer capacity of community sports clubs to support women and girls in sport, opens in a new tab, Change Our Game, (2023). The aim of this research project was to investigate community sports clubs’ volunteer capacity - including management, retention and recruitment - to engage women and girls in participating and volunteering in community sport. The insights from this research can help sports organisations and local clubs identify areas of improvement in growing volunteer capacity to support women and girls’ participation in community-level sport. Some key findings include:
  • Women’s willingness to volunteer, and the volunteer roles they perform in local sports, are influenced by many societal, organisational and individual factors, with gendered roles and stereotypes continuing to be one of the biggest barriers. E.g., women generally volunteer in team manager roles rather than coaching or executive committee positions. This is particularly the case in sports traditionally dominated by men with few women volunteers.
  • There was a perceived lack of credibility towards women in coaching positions, in particular, women coaching men’s or boy’s teams and in sports traditionally dominated by men and boys.
  • Supportive behaviours from men at clubs (including players) are important in enabling women to play sport, such as men taking on roles on game day (e.g. scoring or running the canteen).
  • To support women and girls community sports clubs should consider actions such as: Addressing inequalities in team resourcing, developing specific strategies to increase women in volunteer roles, have policies supporting women in leadership roles in the club, support younger women to build confidence and capability, create a welcoming and inclusive club culture.
• Pathway to Gender Equality in Sport 2021–2022 Progress Report, opens in a new tab, Champions of Change - Sport, (June 2023). Despite consistent effort across the industry over several years, and an increase in the overall number of women working in the industry, we continue to see gender segregation in the areas of administrative leadership and high-performance leadership. Our key areas of focus moving forward will be addressing the disparity in the number of women in leadership (namely executive, CEO, Board and coaching roles). We continue to invest in leadership training and development opportunities for women through various programs. However, there is a need to investigate and address the systemic barriers that continue to facilitate gender segregation in sporting workplaces. Some key highlights and future priorities from 2022 for organisations in the Champions of Change Sport Group include:
  • 88.2% have achieved or moved closer to overall gender balance (up from 68.8% in 2021).
  • 25% report gender balance in their high-performance roles (up from none in 2021).
  • No organisations have achieved gender balance among coaching staff at the elite level in 2022 (down from 31.3% in 2021).
  • Ony 37.5% report gener balance in key management (up from 25% in 2021).
  • Only 31.3% have achieved gender balance on their boards (same as 2021).
• Insights & Impact Report: Edition 2, opens in a new tab, AFL Players Association, (June 2023). This report represents annual insights derived from data collected from AFLPA members. In 2022 the AFLPA voting members gave their approval to the board equalisation effort, leading to a notable amendment to the AFLPA constitution. This marked a historic moment for the organisation as it introduced mandatory equal minimum positions for both AFL mens' (AFLM) and AFLW members on an ongoing basis. Three additional AFLW members were appointed to the board at the 2022 AGM.
• State of Play Survey 2022-23, opens in a new tab, Change our Game, Victorian Government, (June 2023). Between October and November 2022, more than 670 Victorians answered questions on a range of topics relating to gender equality in sport, including values and behaviour in community sport, elite sport, sports media and coverage, leadership opportunities and perceptions, and experiences working and volunteering in sport. The State of Play Survey revealed that overall, while there are some positive attitudes towards women and girls in sport and their right to equal opportunities and access, change is still required in terms of underlying attitudes and behaviours. Consistently throughout the survey, men were less likely than women to perceive gender inequality in various aspects of sport. In relation to leadership some of the key insights were:
  • 4 in 5 people working in sport felt their organisation cared about creating a work environment where men and women are equal.
  • Despite two-thirds of people believing women have fewer senior leadership opportunities, 87% feel women are as good as men at leading sports organisations
  • Only 27% believe women are treated fairly and not disadvantaged in any sport.
  • More than 50% of people who play community sport have experienced or seen gender imbalance (56%) sexist language and jokes (55%).
  • Women working or volunteering in sport were 13% less likely than men to feel comfortable voicing their opinion, and 8% less likely to feel that their opinions were valued.
  • 2 in 3 people reported that men have more opportunities to be in senior leadership positions.
  • 4 in 5 people working in sport felt men and women are given recognition for their work equally within their organisation but 1 in 4 still felt men were more qualified to make decisions.
  • People agreed a board quota to require sporting organisations to have at least 40% women on their committees or board led to: more opportunities for women on boards (84%); increased diversity of opinions and ideas (81%); better outcomes for participants (63%); better decision-making (60%); improved board performance (59%).
  • 28% of women have considered leaving their club due to inequitable treatment.
• Holding up a mirror to cricket , opens in a new tabThe Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC), (June 2023). In November 2020, the ECB announced its intention to establish a Commission “to assist the ECB Board in assessing the evidence of inequalities and discrimination of all forms within cricket, and the actions needed to tackle these issues.” The ICEC was then established in March 2021. The problems we identify are not, sadly, unique to cricket. In many instances they are indicative of equally deeply rooted societal problems and so whilst our headline finding is necessarily blunt, we consider the fact that the ECB proactively initiated this process and opened itself up to independent scrutiny is both positive and brave. Our evidence shows that women continue to be treated as subordinate to men within, and at all levels of, cricket. This is evident both from the lived experience of professional and recreational women cricketers and from the structural barriers that women continue to face.
  • Only 12.7% of cricket’s most senior leadership are women. All current 18 FCC Chairs are men. All but two of those men - one of whom is shortly to depart - are White.
  • Women’s Regional Teams (WRTs) are not members of the ECB and so do not have a voice at the highest levels of the game when important decisions are being made.
  • Across the County cricket workforce, women are underrepresented especially at senior levels.
  • Adult participation is dominated by men who make up an estimated 81% of the recreational game, with women at approximately 19%. The gap is narrower for children playing cricket, 33.4% of whom are girls.
  • Women and women’s teams are frequently demeaned, stereotyped and treated as second-class. There is evidence of “a widespread culture of sexism and misogyny, and unacceptable behaviour towards women in both the recreational and professional game”. A "laddish drinking culture", “predatory behaviour” and “disturbing examples of the conduct and attitude of men towards women, often fuelled by alcohol”.
  • Key recommendations to improve equity for women: As part of governance structure overhaul, women’s game should have equal representation to the men’s game including direct representation on par with first-class counties, not indirectly through the FCCs; Articles of Association amended with specific obligation to promote and develop women’s and girl’s cricket.
• NCAA Demographics Database [data visualisation dashboard], opens in a new tab, National Collegiate Athletic Association, (published December 2022). Provides access and visualisation of self-reported data sourced from active NCAA member schools on the gender, race and ethnicity for all coaching and administrative positions within each school from 2008-2022.
• Analysis of career pathways of British postholders in international sport governance: Interim Report, opens in a new tab, Lucy Piggott, Jordan Matthews, Johanna Adriaanse, University of Chichester and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology for UK Sport, (October 2022). We commissioned new research to examine the pathways that British women and men have taken to achieve roles on committees or boards of international sports organisations. The main purpose of the research is to identify if there are gendered differences in these pathways and provide insight which can inform future actions to address the gender imbalance in international representation in leadership. Many women already have the skills and experience they need to be successful but need more opportunities to build their network and reputation within their sport’s international federation. The report also provided some baseline demographic data for British international postholders, and found that people from ethnically diverse communities and disabled people were significantly underrepresented across both genders. Out of 55 survey respondents, 54 identified as white and only 7% were disabled.
• Evaluation of Sport NZ Ihi Aotearoa’s National Policy for Gender Equity in Governance, opens in a new tab, Dr Jo Cribb, Sport NZ, (September 2022). As of December 2021, 65 out of 66 qualifying partners of Sport NZ Ihi Aotearoa (Sport NZ), achieved a gender balance on their boards of 40 percent or more self-identified women. This qualitative evaluation of the implementation of the policy found that building a pool of board-ready women, focusing on supporting boards with their recruitment processes, and supporting chairs were key to success. To achieve the quota, the attitudes and behaviours of some incumbent board members needed to be challenged, constitutions and deeds modernised, and women needed to be encouraged to apply. The results of having more women on the qualifying boards have been an overall improvement in the quality of governance and board dynamics, more conversations about women and girls at the board table, more women in chair roles and more consideration of wider diversity opportunities, especially biculturalism.
• Women in the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games: An Analysis of Participation, Leadership, and Media Coverage, opens in a new tab, Women's Sport Foundation, (April 2022). This study is the seventh report in the series that follows the progress of women in the Olympic and Paralympic movement. Some of the major findings documented by this study included:
  • Women account for close to 49% of the overall athletes in the Olympic Games. Many larger nations brought delegations with more than 50% female athletes.
  • While not equal, the Olympic programme has narrowed the gap in terms of number of medal events for female and male athletes.
  • Despite the celebration of gender equality and previously intransigent nations who had refused to include female athletes in their delegations, four countries did not include women in their Olympic delegations.
  • The wealth gap continues to widen: In both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, there is a distinct difference between wealthy nations and less financed nations. Wealthy nations were more likely to have athlete delegations that were gender equal.
  • While American women continue to dominate team sport competition in the Olympic Games, in large measure due to the impact of Title IX, other nations are benefitting from Title IX with many of their female (and male) athletes attending American colleges, leading their teams to success, most notably Canada winning gold in women’s soccer and Japan in softball.
  • While significant strides have been made to increase the number of women in leadership positions, particularly within the IOC structure, women continue to be underrepresented within IFs, NOCs, IPC, and the IOC.
  • Continuing the trend from recent Olympic and Paralympic Games, online overage of both Olympic and Paralympic female athletes exceeded the coverage of male athletes in both articles and photographs.
  • Almost 70% of the articles about female athletes were “task” related. Similarly, 89.5% of articles about female Paralympians were “task” related.
• Women in Leadership in Scottish Sport, opens in a new tab, Ryan Brown, Dr Paula Murray, et al., Observatory for Sport in Scotland, (October 2021). This research seeks to inform and deepen understanding of the representation of women in leadership roles across Scottish sport. It is a limited study, conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-21, which severely restricted face-to-face contact and travel. It focuses specifically on women’s roles within Scottish Governing Bodies (SGBs) and leisure trusts, chiefly responsible for the administration of sport and leisure, and includes key national umbrella organisations. Interesting themes emerged from the qualitative research with 31 SGBs and other respondents, including perceptions of women leaders, influence of wider society, governance, recruitment processes, equality and inclusion policies, and barriers faced by women. Gendered stereotypes appear still to be evident in some quarters, manifest in a belief that women who lack a sport participation ‘pedigree’ cannot hold leadership roles, for example. Participants emphasised their being driven by a desire to recruit the best candidate for the job, irrespective of gender, and avoidance of ‘tokenism’ - the suggestion that females be appointed to leading roles purely on account of gender, and not ability - and the potential detrimental effect that could have on female aspiration. As a result, several SGBs disagreed with the idea of gender quotas, and some stated that gender-balanced boards were not among their priorities. Childcare and maternity-related absences were raised as an under-rated barrier to women taking on leadership roles. Research into Swedish women’s football in this report revealed that husband/partner support in childcare, and other areas, was key to the success of one of the country’s leading clubs. Here, childcare in Scottish sport was regarded still, generally, as the responsibility of mothers, with a plea made for more guidance for sport organisations, and male leaders, around childcare requirements, flexibility and routes to support.
• Women on State Sporting Organisation Boards, opens in a new tab, Department of Communities, Tasmanian Government, (March 2021). Since 2009, female representation on SSO boards has grown from 34.6 per cent to 44.5 per cent - a total increase of 9.9 per cent across a twelve-year period. The 3.63 per cent increase from 2019 to 2020 accounts for one third of total improved diversity across this period. The 2020 report is the second time that the overall proportion of females on SSOs boards has reached the Australian Sports Commission recommendation of at least 40 per cent representation. The only other time this occurred was in 2019. In 2020 there were no SSO boards without female representation. This is the first time since reporting began that all SSO boards had one or more female board members. Additionally, no boards had less than 10 per cent female representation, which is again an improvement from 2019. The 2020 results indicate good progress compared to previous reports; however, there is still more work to be done:
  • The proportion of females represented as president or chair of an SSO was 30 per cent, down from 34 per cent in 2019. This means less than one in three SSO boards has a female president or chair.
  • In 2020, 36.67 per cent of boards had less than 40 per cent female representatives. In actual terms, 40 per cent (12) of SSO boards had two females or less indicating a percentage of boards still have an insufficient number of females to achieve a gender balanced board.
• Is gender on the international agenda? Gender representation and policy in international sport governance, opens in a new tab, Lucy Piggott, Jordan Matthews, University of Chichester and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology for UK Sport, (June 2021). The research study reviewed the leadership of 60 international federations and international sports organisations. In addition it also examined six different kinds of gender and governance actions that international federations and international sports organisations have used to promote gender equality: gender targets, gender quotas, election and recruitment rules, gender- or equality-focused groups, official documents and women’s leadership development programmes. The report concluded that gender and governance actions alone will not lead to change. Actions must be ambitious, process-driven and embedded across an organisation and its strategy, with senior leaders actively championing and engaged in efforts to promote gender equality and committed to their implementation.
• Gender equality and inclusion report 2021, opens in a new tab, International Olympic Committee, (2021). This report describes the progress we have made in advancing gender equality and inclusion since the release of Olympic Agenda 2020 and particularly in the last Olympiad. It reviews the implementation of the IOC Gender Equality Review Project, issued in March 2018, and presents the new IOC Gender Equality and Inclusion objectives for 2021-2024 across the three spheres of responsibility of the IOC and five focus areas.
  • 48% of athletes were women at Tokyo 2020, compared with 45% at Rio 2016.
  • 91% of NOC delegations had a woman flag bearer at the opening ceremony (either as a joint or individual flagbearer), compared to 38% at Rio 2016.
  • 28 out of 33 sports had an equal number of medal events for women and men.
  • 32% of international technical officials were women, compared to 29% at Rio 2016.
  • 13% of coaches were women, compared to 11% at Rio 2016.
  • 20% of Chef de Mission roles were held by women, compared to 11% at Rio 2016.
  • Female IOC directors and Associate directors now make up 27% of roles.
  • An increase in women in decision making bodies, for all categories including members, executive board, commission chairs, and commission members (all above 35% female now, but only commission members is near parity with 48% women).
• Diversity & Inclusion Survey 2020: Report on findings, opens in a new tab, Angus & Associates for Sport New Zealand, (2020). Sport NZ undertook a comprehensive and confidential survey across the play, active recreation and sport paid workforce and governing boards in October 2020 with a specific focus on diversity. The main report provides a representative view of the entire sector, while Sport NZ and all participating organisations with more than 10 respondents receive their own confidential individual reports. Those with less than 10 respondents will receive a report summarising the results of other organisations of the same type (e.g. Regional Sports Trust, Regional Sports Organisations, clubs). Some of the key insights relevant to women in sport included:
  • A 15% gender pay gap based on the median annual income.
  • More females than males see poor remuneration as the main barrier to progression in the sector.
  • Overall, the sector's workforce reflects the wider adult population by gender, but there is a male skew in Governance roles, a female skew in other paid roles and a male skew in four of the seven leadership roles: Chief Executives, HP Directors, HP Coaches, and Coach/Sport Development Managers.
  • Females are less likely to agree their organisation puts its commitment to Diversity & Inclusion into practice.
• Third Review of International Federation Governance, opens in a new tab, Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), (June 2020). Building on the previous reviews published in 2017 and 2018, the evaluation for 2019-20 took the form of a self-assessment questionnaire with independent moderation of the responses. Only one IF had a board that was over 40% comprised by women; 12 IFs had boards between 25% and 40% female in composition, plus rules or a policy to encourage better gender balance – an increase on nine IFs at this level in 2018; for 10 IFs the proportion was between 15% and 25%; eight IFs had fewer than 15% of their board composed by women.
• Chasing Equity: The Triumphs, Challenges, and Opportunities in Sports for Girls and Women, opens in a new tab, Women's Sports Foundation, (January 2020). The report highlights that despite the assumption that increased female participation in sport would lead to more women working in, and leading, sports organisations this has not occurred. Women are impacted at various levels of their career, often leading them to select a different career path or field altogether, rather than persist within sport. Much work remains before fair access at all levels of sport is achieved. Key statistics relating to leadership and governance include:
  • Women held, on average, less than a quarter of head coach or athletic director positions in all levels of the NCAA.
  • In the US Olympic and Paralympic Committees, women comprise approximately 37.5% of members and approximately 33% of positions on the boards of US national governing bodies.
• Facts and figures on gender (in)equalities and differences, opens in a new tab, Fact Sheet #1 of the Toolkit: How to make an impact on gender equality in sport All you need to know, opens in a new tab, European Union and the Council of Europe, (September 2019). This factsheet is composed of five sections presenting facts and figures relating to gender inequalities and differences in participation (from grass-roots to elite sport), coaching, leadership and the media and to the prevalence of gender-based violence in sports.
• Gender equality in sport: Getting closer every day, opens in a new tab, Ivana Katsarova; graphics: Samy Chahr, European Parliamentary Research Service Briefing, (March 2019). Briefing paper covers background and research relating to gender equality and sport. Specific focus areas include: women's (long) road to the Olympics; women in sports-related decision-making; women as coaches; gender pay inequalities; gender-related stereotypes in media representation; popularity and coverage of women's sports events in the EU; and European parliament views on gender equality in sport.
• Press for Progress Report 2018/19: to be the leading sport for women and girls, opens in a new tab, Cricket Australia, (2019). This is the second annual report relating to the aspiration 'to be the leading sport for women and girls', set out in the Australian Cricket Strategy 2017-2022. It reports on representation of women in director (26%), executive management (34%), other management (29%) and total employee roles (34%). The 2020 target for all categories is minimum 40% representation of men and women across every level of the Australian Cricket workforce.
• World at her feet, opens in a new tab, Burson, Cohn and Wolfe (BCW), (2019). BCW, one of the world’s largest full-service global communications agencies, invited players, former players, officials, administrators, commercial experts and fans to give their views on the current state of play and future of women’s football for this report. Through their own personal sporting stories and different experiences of the game, they offer insights into how the sport can seize opportunities to develop and overcome the obstacles that still stand in the way of progress and equality. Some key findings from the report relevant to leadership and governance include:
  • Women are making their way into football boardrooms and management, but it’s hardly a stampede. Less than 1% of presidents of national associations are female.
  • The game’s fan base is rapidly expanding with record attendances in several countries including Spain, Italy and Mexico, as well as rocketing ticket sales for the Champions League and World Cup, but gate receipts in national leagues still remain too low for most clubs to be self-sustainable.
  • Investment in infrastructure, pitch quality, academies and the grassroots game is still relatively weak
  • Big-brand sponsorship is on the increase. Sponsors believe that investing in a world that produces healthy, confident and empowered women is good for business.
  • While attitudes are changing for the better, examples of sexism, conservatism and bias still persist.
• Beyond 30% – Workplace Culture in Sport Report, opens in a new tab, Women in Sport, (June 2018). Currently, women are under-represented in senior leadership roles and on boards in the sector. There is also evidence of discrimination and negative workplace culture. This needs to change in order to create an environment in which both women and men thrive and to nurture the pipeline of talented female leaders for the future.
• IOC Gender Equality Review Project, opens in a new tab, International Olympic Committee, (2018). The project findings emphasise that if gender equality initiatives are to be successfully implemented and sustained, all recommendations should be fulfilled. Achieving across-the-board gender equality in sport also requires clear timelines for action, with identified responsibilities, and follow-up monitoring and evaluation. Five themes are identified in the report including sport (participation, rules, competition formats, venues, safeguarding, career transitions, coaches, officials, etc.); portrayal (balanced media portrayals and communication partnerships); funding; governance (leadership development, electoral processes, roles and responsibilities); and HR monitoring and communications (inclusive leadership, monitoring progress and communications plan).
• 2017 Sport and Recreation Paid Workforce survey, opens in a new tab, Angus and Associates for Sport New Zealand, (June 2017). This report presents the findings of the 2017 Sport and Recreation Paid Workforce Survey. The results outlined in this report are based on a total sample of n=1,145 paid employees of 114 organisations in the sport and recreation sector. These organisations include a broad cross-section of national sports organisations (NSOs), regional sports organisations (RSOs), regional sports trusts (RSTs), national recreation organisations (NROs), territorial authorities (TAs), and relevant government agencies/ crown entities. The workforce profile has a slight skew towards female employees when compared to the population profile by gender. The workforce of RSTs and NROs is significantly female skewed, while the reverse is true of RSOs and NSOs.
• Gender Balance in Global Sport Report, opens in a new tab, 2nd report, Tranter R, Medd R and Braund C, Women on Boards, (2016). This report was written in the lead up to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games to update the inaugural report published in June 2014. This report provides an updated publicly available dataset on the number of women serving on boards of sports governing bodies; the gender pay gaps in certain sports; and case studies on sports that are successfully addressing the gender gap. The core data set includes information from 129 of the 206 National Olympic Committees; 27 Paralympic Committees; 28 International Sports Federations; 14 Paralympic International Sports Federations; 59 National Governing Bodies (NGBs) in the United Kingdom and 57 National Sporting Organisations (NSOs) in Australia. Overall findings include: (1) the number of women in elite governing bodies of the Olympic movement remains below 30%; (2) female representation on National Olympic Committees has fallen a further one per cent over the past two years and now stands at 16.6%; (3) female representation on International Sports Federations has remained static at close to 18%. Statistics vary from sport-to-sport and across countries. For example, at international level, only Tennis recorded a significant increase in the percentage of female board members, but it was coming off a base of zero percent in 2014; Taekwondo, Aquatics, Boxing and Wrestling all recorded a slight increase in the percentage of female board members. In Paralympic sports, only the boards of Table Tennis, Basketball, Curling and Bocca recorded an increase in the number of women on their boards. 20 National Olympic Committees recorded a 5% or greater reduction in the number of women on their boards, while 28 improved by more than 5%. Again, many of the top performers came off a zero base. Only Malawi, Australia, Bermuda, Norway, New Zealand, Kiribati, Samoa and Tuvalu have at least 40% or more women on their national Olympic boards and committees; the USA has 31.3% females and the UK has 26.7%. Tables identifying the changes (from 2014 to 2016) in the representation of women on national sports boards in the two focus countries (i.e. UK and Australia) are presented in this report. In addition, this report addresses the gender gap in earnings between male and female athletes in the same sport, sponsorships and other earnings were not included; two case studies — football (soccer) and cricket, are provided.
  • Gender balance in global sport report, opens in a new tab, 1st report, Braund C, Women on Boards, (2014). This report reveals that many of the top international sports governing bodies have not done enough to ensure that a representative number of board positions are held by women. Among International Sports Federations surveyed, the average female representation was only about 15% and National Olympic Committees 16.5%. These figures exist despite a pre-Sydney 2000 Olympic Games target set by the International Olympic Committee to achieve a minimum of 20% women on all boards of Olympic sports by 2005.
• Gender Report Card: 2016 International Sports Report Card on Women in Leadership Roles, opens in a new tab, Dr. Richard Lapchick, et.al., Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), University of Central Florida, (2016). The Report Card covers the international sports federations affiliated with the International Olympic Committee, called the International Federations (IFs), the national federations affiliated to each IF, the regional zone confederations, the International Olympic Committee itself and the United States Olympic Committee. The lack of women in leadership positions in international sport has been a problem for many years. This Report Card is the most extensive coverage to date and is the first time that grades have been issued. More than 8,500 leadership positions were examined.
• Her Life Depends On It III: Sport, Physical Activity, and the Health and Well-Being of American Girls and Women, opens in a new tab, Staurowsky, E. J., DeSousa, M. J., Miller, K. E., et al., Women’s Sports Foundation, (May 2015). A comprehensive report that reviews existing and emerging research on the links between participation in sport and physical activity and the health and wellbeing of American girls and women. As with the previous editions in 2004 and 2009, this study also confirms that physical activity and sport provides the critical foundation, in no small part, that allows girls and women to lead healthy, strong, and fulfilled lives. The report’s contents reflect the review of 1,500 studies, nearly 400 covered since the previous edition. While the report’s focus continues to be on U.S. girls and women, selected research findings that offer perspective regarding girls and women worldwide is also referenced in order to provide some perspective and context. The research compiled in this updated report strongly suggests that sport and physical activity provide conditions that help to ensure girls’ health and wellbeing (physical, social, psychological, and academic). In this report, we also highlight the emerging areas of research that focus on protecting the health of female athletes and offer insights into the steps that need to be taken to ensure their health and safety. Some important selected findings identified include:
  • As a general trend, females across the board, regardless of age, race, or social class, are shortchanged in realizing the benefits of participation in physically challenging activities. However, females from lower economic backgrounds, females of color and females with disabilities suffer even greater negative health consequences as a result of less engagement in physical activity and less access to sport and physical fitness programs.
  • Despite more female athletes than ever before participating in the sport system, obstacles persist for women who wish to be leaders and decision-makers in the sport industry. The career aspirations of young women often collide with the gender barriers that exist in most male dominated sport organization.
  • Previous athletic participation has been found to be an asset and valued quality among global business leaders. According to a 2013 study issued by Ernst & Young, a corporation that does business around the world, women at the executive level were found to have participated in university sport more frequently than women who were in manager positions (55% to 39%). The Ernst & Young (2013) study also found that more than 75% of women agree that adopting behaviors and techniques from sport in the corporate environment can be an effective way of improving the performance of work teams, which is a high management priority.
• Final Report of the Government’s Women and Sport Advisory Board, opens in a new tab, United Kingdom, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Women and Sport Advisory Board, (March 2015). The aim of this final report is to present a final overview of the Board’s work and highlight some of the progress that has been made in women’s sport since summer 2013. The Board has also provided some suggestions for future action around women’s sport, based on their own extensive experience and insights in this area. Overall media coverage of women’s sport sits at around 7% with broadcasters overall at 10% and the print press at 2%. Given the emergence of new media platforms, and the different types of sports coverage, we do not believe a blanket target is useful in this context. Figures from the National Council for the Training of Journalists show that while 54% of journalism students are women, just 11% of sports journalism students are women. While we are hopeful that the market will start to shift to recognise the true value of women’s sport, there is still huge disparity between the levels of investment going into women’s sport (0.4%) compared to men’s sport (85.5%).The most recent audit carried out by Women in Sport, in May 2014, shows that the overall number of women on NGB Boards is 27%. However, almost 50% of NGB Boards have not yet reached the goal of 25% by 2017.
  • Interim Report of the Government’s Women and Sport Advisory Board, opens in a new tab, United Kingdom, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Women and Sport Advisory Board, (October 2014). Just over a year after its inception, the Women and Sport Advisory Board released this interim report to provide an overview of the key issues surrounding women and sport and provide a snapshot of action by the government, its primary delivery bodies for sport (i.e. Sport England and UK Sport) and key stakeholders. Sport England’s research has identified three areas that present barriers to participation: (1) emotional barriers, many women do not have a positive relationship with sport; (2) capability barriers, many women have the perception that they are not good enough; and (3) opportunity barriers, such as lack of time due to family priorities.
• Trophy Women? 2015: No more board games, opens in a new tab, Women in Sport, UK, (2015). Following six years of research by Women in Sport into the gender diversity of sports boards, female representation on the boards of National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and other sports organisations that are funded and supported by Sport England and UK Sport is finally averaging 30%, compared to the first survey (21%) conducted in 2009. However, further analysis suggests that barriers that existed six years ago persist. There is still variation in the progress made by individual NGBs and publicly funded sport organisations. This report showcases best practice and identifies areas where there has been less change.
• Gender Equity: What it will take to be the best (2014), Richmond Football Club in partnership with Bluestone Edge, Australian Football League and the Australian Sports Commission, (2014). Sport, as a reflection of our wider society, is not an industry shared equally between men and women and gender inequity remains firmly entrenched, particularly at the leadership and governance level of most sports. The leadership of the Richmond Football Club decided it needed to more effectively engage with female stakeholders, internally and externally, to improve business performance. This report presents an abridged version of the overall research findings, so that gender equity may become a sustainable reality in sport. Nine themes were identified: (1) an equity mindset; (2) the right kind of support for women; (3) recognising the stress of the status quo; (4) women’s brand in football; (5) the role of men as learners, partners and leaders; (6) the visibility and voice of women; (7) workplace access and flexibility; (8) recruitment and attraction; and (9) affirmative action, measurement and reporting. The issues, focus areas and themes arising from the research have been distilled to form an overarching framework, which highlights key areas and suggested interventions that Richmond Football Club and other sporting organisations can make to embed gender equity and diversity in the management and governance of their organisation. Four strategic areas for change are identified: structural, cultural, leadership and business; with strategies suggested for each.
• Women’s Sport: say yes to success, opens in a new tab, Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation, (2014). This is the third major report from the WSFF examining the levels of commercial investment afforded to women’s sport in the UK. As well as updating these figures, we also include for the first time, the results of a media audit providing a detailed breakdown of the coverage different media types give to women’s sport. Commercial investment in sport and the media coverage it receives are inextricably linked—brands are looking for profile and media outlets need exciting competitions and events in packed sporting arenas to make for spectacular viewing and reporting. To improve one the other must also be addressed, hence this new combined analysis. This report reveals that despite some positive developments in a handful of sports, women’s sport in the UK still accounts for only 0.4% of the commercial investment going into all sports and for only 7% of total sports coverage in the media.
• About Time! Women in sport and recreation in Australia, opens in a new tab, Australian Government; The Senate, Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts References Committee, (September 2006). The Committee’s terms of reference were to inquire into women in sport and recreation in Australia, with particular reference to: (a) the health benefits of women participating in sport and recreation activities; (b) the accessibility for women of all ages to participate in organised sport, fitness and recreation activities; (c) the portrayal of women’s sport in the media; and (d) women in leadership roles in sport.
  • Australian Government response to the Senate Committee report - About Time Women in Sport and Recreation in Australia - 2012, Australian Government, Department of Health, (October 2012). This response to the About Time Report outlines action taken by the Australian Government, its current priorities and future agenda in this area.

• Mandating Women Board Members in Sport Organizations: Change via Coercive Institutional Pressure, opens in a new tab, Kathleen B. Wilson, Adam Karg, Emma Sherry, et al., Journal of Sport Management, Volume 38(6), pp.411-425, (2024). Boosting board representation of women redresses structural unfairness and improves corporate governance and performance. The Change Our Game initiative, running over 3 years statewide in Victoria, Australia, mandated 40% representation of women on state sport boards. At the start, only 44% of state sport boards had 40% women representation; by the mandate deadline, this had increased to 93%. Using an institutional theory lens, the authors qualitatively analyzed four stakeholder groups: mandators, policy champions, operationalists, and mandate targets. Stakeholder sentiments were analyzed pre- and postmandate deadline over 3 years. Sentiments ranged from positive to equivocation to denigration. The mandate’s coercive pressure, supported by institutional legitimacy and work to accelerate changes, led to institutional change and achieved a significant increase in women board members. Change was grounded in strong ethical and cognitive support from mandate champions. Microsocial expressions of denigration and change resistance did not prevent successful change.
• Women representation and organisational characteristics in sport governance: Implications for gender policy and practice, opens in a new tab, Lara Lesch, Shannon Kerwin, Pamela Wicker, International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, (25 May 2023). This study investigates the representation of women board members in sport governing bodies (SGB) and the extent to which boards can be assigned to subgroups based on the number and share of women board members. The study examines the organisational characteristics of SGBs with low, medium, and high representation of women on the board. Data were gathered from the websites of German national and state sport associations and federations (n = 930), including information about the size and gender composition of the board and several organisational characteristics (e.g. type of sport, headquarter location, membership figures). SGBs with low representation of women have on average smaller boards and represent non-Olympic sports or ‘typically masculine’ sports. Sport federations are more frequently represented in the clusters with medium and high representation of women on the board. SGBs in the third cluster represent ‘typically feminine’ sports like dancing or equestrian and have the most women and youth memberships. The findings help sport policy makers target respective groups of organisations with interventions to implement gender policies and explain the important role of such policies for attracting new women board members or gaining legitimacy from public institutions.
• Women as leaders in male-dominated sectors: A bifocal analysis of gendered organizational practices, opens in a new tab, Wendy O’Brien, Clare Hanlon, Vasso Apostolopoulos, Gender, Work & Organization, (19 May 2023). In this paper, we examine the gendered social practices from insights of 15 women leaders in Australia as they attempt to advance their careers. In particular, on formal policies, informal practices, narratives and social interactions, and informal patterns of unconscious bias and merit, they negotiate in three male-dominated sectors: Trades, Sport, and Surgery. The findings indicate a disconnect between policies and their application. Women were conflicted about the importance of quotas, and often felt unable to access flexible work arrangements upon returning to work after parental leave. Career pathways were often unclear, and women felt a lack of support from their organization, particularly when they attempted to navigate dominant masculine cultures. Drawing on these findings, we argue that executive leaders are central to changing the systemic sexism and discrimination in organizations that persist in male-dominated sectors. To create organizational changes necessary for women to step into leadership roles, we propose four target areas: create accessible and visible career pathways, provide networking support, activate mentoring opportunities, and address unconscious bias.
• Gender equality achieved through crisis: Football Federation of Australia (now FA), opens in a new tab, Catherine Ordway, International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, (9 March 2023). It was not until the international federation for football (FIFA) threatened to withdraw its recognition of its member federation, Football Federation of Australia (now Football Australia), that gender equality measures were adopted. This governance crisis threat led to the Congress Review Working Group being established. The Working Group recommendations led to significant structural change including mandated gender equality measures. It remains to be seen if constitutional amendments, including the 40:40:20 strategy (40% women, 40% men and 20% of any gender), can translate into meaningful and lasting transformation. It is intended that this case study will be a roadmap for other sports to follow.
• Capacity for gender equity initiatives: a multiple case study investigation of national sport organisations, opens in a new tab, Swarali Patil, Alison Doherty, International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Volume 15(2), pp.271-288, (April 2023). Instrumental case studies were used to examine and compare the capacity of three Canadian NSOs engaged in addressing gender equity in their sport through their respective initiatives designed to increase the engagement of women in sport as athletes, coaches, and officials. Semi-structured interviews (n = 15) were conducted with board members and staff across the three NSOs. Several common capacity strengths (e.g., knowledgeable and experienced staff, dedicated funding) and challenges (e.g., limited staff, constraints in external communication) were identified. Capacity elements unique to each NSO were also uncovered. Environmental factors influencing the NSOs’ capacity to implement their respective gender equity initiatives included the broad political climate, access to volunteers, and availability of additional funding sources . The findings address the call for further evidence of critical organisational practices for enacting gender equity, with a particular focus on NSOs, and framed by a multidimensional model of organisational capacity and environmental influences. The findings have implications for being aware of the capacity of NSOs to address government policy and directives for gender equity in sport, and for maintaining and building capacity to implement gender equity initiatives.
• From the Sideline to CEO: An Investigation into Women, Leadership Roles and Australian Rugby League, opens in a new tab [PhD thesis], Gabriella Hotham, Charles Sturt University, (March 2023). This thesis highlights the lived experiences and perspectives of 30 women working and volunteering in leadership positions, such as coaches, board members, trainers, strappers, officials, exercise scientists and administrators in elite and subelite rugby league competitions in Australia. Using research methods such as in-depth interviews and thematic analysis, this thesis investigates the traditionally male dominated environment of rugby league and whether women are welcomed, included, and respected within this space. The extent to which elite and sub-elite rugby league competitions practice gender equality is also explored. The participants of this study shared experiences where both subtle and explicit forms of sexism were evident within the workplace. However, participants also felt motivated to continue their careers within rugby league despite experiencing hostile and unwelcoming behaviours from male colleagues and athletes. As such, by adopting an organisational culture lens and third-wave feminism perspective, this research concluded that the environment of elite and sub-elite rugby league competitions in Australia are simultaneously empowering and oppressive for women involved in leadership positions.
• ‘We are going to the right direction… but we are not in ideal world yet’: understanding gender (in)equality within leadership positions in Nordic football governance, opens in a new tab, Marjukka Mikkonen, Sport In Society, Volume 26(6), pp.1003-1023, (2023). In comparison with previous studies (conducted mainly in the US, e.g. Burton and Leberman Citation2017; Shaw and Hoeber Citation2003), this study shows that some major barriers for women aiming for leadership positions have been broken down (e.g. family-work relation, and heroic and masculine leadership style) in Nordic football. In line with Cunningham’’ (2019) and Burton’s (Citation2015) findings, this article shows that the barriers women leaders face are dynamic and multi-faceted and emerge from several levels. Thus, multi-level actions are needed to tackle gender inequality in football. However, regardless of the aforementioned actions and changes, women remain underrepresented within leadership positions in Nordic football. As shown in this study, women in Nordic football face both structural and cultural bottlenecks at different levels in their leadership careers. However, the barriers seem largely intertwined with the following dilemma: football-specific experience (derived from men’s football) is seen as crucial in many leading positions at both FAs. as it seems that men keep reinforcing the culture they learned in the past as players and other actors in the FAs, it becomes essential to intertwine the past. As umbrella organizations for football, the FAs have the power and means to steer (men’s) football clubs towards a more inclusive culture. Furthermore, addressing the culture and organizations at the club level would help break the structural barrier of women lacking the right kind of football experience.
• Achieving gender equity: barriers and possibilities at board level in Swedish sport, opens in a new tab, Daniel Alsarve, European Sport Management Quarterly, (16 August 2022). Three dilemmas relating to the realisation of gender equity are analysed: between quotas and stigmatisation, overcoming gender equity as a side-project and how the democratic infrastructure of Swedish sport enables men’s continued dominance. The findings indicate that one-dimensional (affirmative) interventions dominate, which in turn explain why achieving gender equity in Swedish sport is difficult, i.e. cultural interventions only limit the chances of achieving gender equity. To implement transformative interventions, cultural and economic resources need to be equally recognised and redistributed so that the organisations’ gender order is deconstructed and participation on equally recognised terms secured.
• Women leaders in sport: a community of practice programme to create social learning, opens in a new tab, Clare Hanlon, Tracy Taylor, Managing Sport and Leisure, (17 March 2022). A community of practice (CoP) social learning approach can purposefully support change and provide rich experiences to benefit participants and their sport organisations. We explore how a CoP intervention programme creates social learning outcomes and expands opportunities for women as leaders in sport. Chief Executive Officers (16) undertaking a 1-year intervention programme were interviewed and completed a Gender Equality Diagnostic Tool, pre- and post-programme. The social network formed during the CoP programme expanded participant's social learnings and associated actions, through informal social interactions and discussion of shared practices.
• Workplace Experiences of Women With Disability in Sport Organizations, opens in a new tab, Clare Hanlon, Tracy Taylor, Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, Volume 4, (January 2022). Women with disability often experience barriers to employment and career progression, most notably in hyper-masculinised industry sectors such as sport. Applying an intersectionality lens and insights from critical disability theory, this research explores the lived experiences of eight women with varying types of disability through their stories of working and volunteering in sport organizations in Victoria (Australia). Analyses of the interviews highlighted the importance that these women attached to their identity as a woman with disability and the intrapersonal and organizational factors that impacted on initial sport workplace attraction and retention. The findings discuss the relationship management strategies adopted to manage these factors in workplace interactions.
• The impact of gender quotas in sport management: the case of Spain, opens in a new tab, Celia Valiente, Sport in Society, Volume 25(5), pp.1017-1034, (2022). This article investigates the impact of gender quotas on sport management by analyzing the gender quota established in 2014 in Spain on boards of national sport federations (of at least three women or 33% of board members). Drawing on published and on-line documents and eighty-six interviews of female and male federation board members, I find that the Spanish gender quota increased the proportion of women board members (but not the proportion of women federation presidents). Economic sanctions for non-compliance made the quota effective. The quota had the effect within federations of making gender inequality more visible. Thus, this research concludes that gender quotas have substantial consequences for sport management other than the numerical increment of women managers.
• Gender inclusive sporting environments: the proportion of women in non-player roles over recent years, opens in a new tab, R Eime, M Charity, B. C Foley, et al., BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, Volume 13, (May 2021). This study involved secondary analysis of the AusPlay survey, a national population survey, funded by the Australian Sports Commission. This study utilised data from people aged 15-years or older about their involvement in non-playing roles in sport, and their demographic data. In this study of 61,578 Australians there was a higher proportion of men in non-player roles in sport compared to women, across each of the three years (2018: men 55 %, women 46 %). Involvement of women in coaching increased significantly from 38 % to 2016 to 44 % in 2018 (p < 0.001). The proportion of women involved in administration roles significantly decreased from a peak of 51 % in 2017 to 46 % in 2018. Aligned with strategic policy and investment strategies, there are gradual increased representation of women in non-playing sport, coaching roles. Women are still underrepresented in terms of coaches, officials and administrators, but are more likely to be managers. It is recommended that there is continued mentoring, identification and emphasising of female role models, and further strategies to increase female presence in non-playing roles.
• Going on a ‘witch hunt’: investigating the lived experiences of women working in male team sports in regional Australia, opens in a new tab, Gabriella Hotham, Chelsea Litchfield, Jaquelyn Osborne, Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics, Volume 24(3), pp.396-411, (2021). Male dominated team sports potentially provide many opportunities for women, through both voluntary and paid employment. However, very few studies focus on the experiences of women at a regional (or rural) level in sport. By examining the experiences of women working with male team sports at this level, insight into why women choose to be involved within male dominated sporting spaces can be explored, including the benefits and the barriers faced within these spaces. Such information is pertinent to the wider discussions relating to women in sport in Australia. Therefore, the aim of this research was to study the lived experiences of female coaches, trainers, strappers, umpires, exercise scientists and administrators involved in regional male team sports in NSW.
• Gender Relations, Gender Equity, and Community Sports Spaces, opens in a new tab, Ruth Jeanes, Ramòn Spaaij, Karen Farquharson, et al., Journal of Sport and Social Issues, (9 October 2020). This study employs a spatial analysis to critically examine gender relations within an Australian football and netball community sports club that has sought to address gender inequity and promote the participation of women across the club. Notable changes included increased female representation in the club’s decision-making structures, growing numbers of female members, and the establishment of a women’s and girls’ football section. The study utilized spatial and feminist theory to illustrate that, despite the club’s efforts to change gender relations, men who are able to embody dominant forms of masculinity (i.e., high ability and able-bodied) continue to be privileged within the club environment. The findings reinforce that although a greater number of women and girls are participating in community sport, this alone is not significantly reshaping gender relations. Policies seeking to promote gender equity in sport need to enforce changes in club environments in addition to focusing on increasing women’s participation.
• Women in sports leadership: A systematic narrative review, opens in a new tab, Adam Evans, Gertrud Pfister, International Reviw for the Sociology of Sport, (5 April 2020). There is consensus in the literature that, globally, women continue to be under-represented in leadership positions. Patriarchal selection practices and organisational cultures reinforce this inequity, despite evidence that men in leadership roles recognise the problem. While gender equity policies exist, actions to pursue gender equity are more limited. Patriarchal language, gendered stereotypes and person-profiling still persist, resulting in specific emotional and practical challenges for women in sports leadership positions. The reflective panel recognised an over-representation of studies from a liberal ‘Western’ tradition that conceptualises gender inequity in a specific socio-cultural and political way. Studies also often overlook the effects of the intersectionality. Finally, we suggest areas for further research, including a need to understand the electoral procedures of sports organisations beyond ‘formal’ channels, to better understand women’s lived experiences of inequity and to investigate the experiences of women who either step down or are not appointed to leadership positions.
• Women and Leadership Development in Australian Sport Organizations, opens in a new tab, Marissa Banu-Lawrence, Stephen Frawley, and Larena Hoeber, Journal of Sport Management, Volume 34(6), pp.568-578, (2020). Understanding leadership development processes is important for the sport industry, in which organisations are becoming increasingly professional and commercially focused. Despite the increased attention on gender diversity and leadership development within the sport industry to date, the scope and application of organizational gender and leadership development theory within an Australian sport context has been limited. As such, the purpose of this study was to explore the leadership development practices adopted by key stakeholders of the Australian sports industry, with the intention to uncover how they impact the role of women in different organisations. Specifically, the research investigated the practices of three organisations that have a major stake in Australian professional sport.
• Sexism in Professional Sports: How Women Managers Experience and Survive Sport Organizational Culture, opens in a new tab, Lauren Hindman and Nefertiti Walker, Journal of Sport Management, Volume 34(1), pp.64-76, (2020). Women remain the minority in sport organisations, particularly in leadership roles, and prior work has suggested that sexism may be to blame. This study examines women’s experiences of both overt and subtle sexism in the sport industry as well as the impact such experiences have on their careers. Based on interviews and journal entries from women managers working in a men’s professional sports league, the findings suggest that the culture of sport organisations perpetuates sexism, including the diminishment and objectification of women. Sexism occurs in women’s everyday interactions with their supervisors and coworkers, as well as others that they interact with as part of their jobs. Such experiences result in professional and emotional consequences, which women navigate by employing tactics that enable their survival in the sport industry.
• Gender diversity in sport leadership: an investigation of United States of America National Governing Bodies of Sport, opens in a new tab, Lindsey Gaston, Milly Blundell, Tom Fletcher, Managing Sport and Leisure , Volume 15(6), pp.402-417, (2020). The results of this study indicate that females are largely under-represented in leadership roles within national governing bodies (NGBs). Findings also indicate a positive correlation between female representation in the leadership structure of NGBs, and the ability of the NGB to achieve female membership benchmarks, thus supportive of Critical Mass Theory. The implications of the study support both an ethical case for female representation and also highlights a clear business performance case for greater gender diversity in the senior roles of leadership within NGBs in the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
• Women and leadership: advancing gender equity policies in sport leadership through sport governance, opens in a new tab, Popi Sotiriadou and Donna de Haan, International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Volume 11(3), pp.365-383, (2019). This paper uses a multilevel framework to deconstruct the role board members play in advancing gender equity policies in leadership positions in sport governance. Data were collected using in-depth interviews with triathlon board members of the International Federation and two national federations. The results show that within the multilevel framework, at the individual (micro) level, male equity champions pave the way for both challenging existing stereotypes at an organisational level (meso) within the boards, and at the sport level (macro) through the introduction and implementation of strategies and policies in the organisations studied and constitutional changes that encourage women to engage in leadership roles. These strategies and policies display the power of equity champions of change and their willingness and ability to create a gender-equitable governance culture. Equity champions of change enable women to feel valued in leadership roles, and further encourage and promote the acceptance of women in the governance of sport organisations.
• A Holistic Perspective on Women’s Career Pathways in Athletics Administration, opens in a new tab, Allyson Hartzell and Marlene Dixon, Journal of Sport Management, Volume 33(2), pp.79-92, (2019). Though progress has been made in recent years, women continue to be underrepresented in sport leadership positions around the globe, particularly at the highest levels. This problem persists despite the known advantages to gender diversity in leadership positions. Multiple approaches from various levels of analysis (macro, meso and micro) have been used to study this phenomenon. However, there is a strong need for a more comprehensive model that would consider not only multiple levels of analysis, but also time and nonwork considerations. To that end, the authors review the existing literature in the area and then examine career and life course theories that would extend current conceptualizations of women’s experiences in sport leadership positions and the choices they make in the shaping of their career paths. This model enhances effective career development strategies that help women achieve the positions they strive for within sport, thereby enriching their own personal development and helping sport organizations achieve the multiple and positive benefits of a more diverse workforce.
• Examination of Gender Equity and Female Participation in Sport, opens in a new tab, Joshua A. Senne, The Sport Journal, (26 February 2016). This paper presents an overview of five topics related to gender equity and sports. These topics include: (a) history of gender equity in sports and Title IX; (b) gender equity in sport governance; (c) gender equity issues in athletics; (d) gender equity, sports participation and Title IX; and (e) gender equity in coed sports. For each topic, the author presents an overview as well as a reason for selecting the topic. Further, the author presents information about the importance of each topic to gender equity in sports, plus any relevant social, ethical or legal concerns.
• Professional women’s sport in Australia, opens in a new tab, Emma Sherry, Chelsey Taylor, Chapter 9 in Routledge Handbook of the Business of Women's Sport, opens in a new tab, Nancy Lough, Andrea Geurin (eds.), Routledge, (2019). Professional women’s sport in Australia is undergoing a period of unprecedented growth in its numbers of professional leagues, salary, television broadcast, and talent development opportunities. The history of women’s competition in sport in Australia is over 120 years old; however, since these formative years, the professionalization of women’s sport in Australia has been slow. In more recent times, we are now witnessing a rapid increase in interest, salaries, and sponsorship of a variety of professional women’s leagues – in both traditionally female sports (such as netball), and increasingly growing into new franchises and leagues in the traditionally male football codes and cricket. This chapter presents the history and evolution of professional women’s sport in Australia, with particular attention to current professional leagues and sport codes, and the expansion of professionalization to new and emerging sports across the country.
• Career experiences in Australian sport organisations: formal and informal effects of gender, opens in a new tab [PhD thesis], Michelle O'Shea, Griffith University, (2017). The research used a multiple case study approach with four Australian national and state sport organisations. My analysis of the study organisations’ human resource management (HRM) policies and practices revealed how formally documented and managerially endorsed recruitment and selection, promotion and retention policies were not always enacted in sport workplaces. Instead, there were ambiguities, tensions and gaps between formally espoused hiring and promotions policies, managers’ interpretations of those policies, and women’s and men’s experiences of the practices routinely enacted to recruit, promote and retain sport personnel. How sport organisation employees interpreted and experienced these disparities provided me with a unique window into the complexities of how, in the case organisations, gender was understood and enacted, and how gender power relations differentially and inequitably shaped women’s and men’s sport management careers.
• Diversity work in community sport organizations: Commitment, resistance and institutional change, opens in a new tab, Ramón Spaaij, Jonathan Magee, Karen Farquharson, et al., International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Volume 53(3), (June 2016). This paper critically examines diversity work in community sports clubs. Drawing upon qualitative research at 31 amateur sports clubs in Australia, the findings show that diversity work in community sport organizations is often haphazard and accidental, rather than a strategic response or adaptation to policy. This paper concludes that while individual champions are critical to the promotion of diversity, persistent tensions and resistance arise when they seek to translate the language of diversity into institutional practice and culture change.
• Gender and leadership positions in recreational hockey clubs, opens in a new tab, Litchfield C, Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics, Volume 19(1), pp.61-79, (2015). Women are not traditionally associated with leadership roles in sport and the culture of sport is often a space where males are in positions of power. This paper explores the experiences of women from two mixed-gendered and one female-only recreational level hockey clubs in Melbourne. The author examines the gendered leadership, principally male dominant, at these hockey clubs and uses Connell's theory of gender relations to identify the differences in the level of involvement of women in leadership roles between mixed-gendered and single-gendered hockey clubs.
• Underrepresentation of women in sport leadership: A review of research, opens in a new tab, Burton L, Sport Management Review, Volume 18(2), pp.155-165. (2015). Despite increased participation opportunities for girls and women in sport, they are underrepresented in leadership positions at all levels of sport. The objective of this review is to provide a multilevel examination of available scholarship that contributes to understanding why there are so few women in leadership positions within sport. This review looked at existing research covering the institutionalised practices of gender in sport; stereotyping of leaders; issues of discrimination and gendered organisational cultures, and; women's expectations in leadership positions and occupational turnover. Gender as an organising principle in sport needs to be considered along with other forms of identity, such as race, sexual orientation, class and ability.
• The impact of gender quotas on gender equality in sport governance, opens in a new tab, Adriaanse J, Schofield T, Journal of Sport Management, Volume 28(5), pp.485-497, (2014). A common intervention to address women’s underrepresentation in governance has been the introduction of gender quotas. This study examined the impact of gender quotas on gender equality in governance among boards of national sport organisations (NSOs) in Australia. The findings suggest that a quota of a minimum of three women was the first condition to advance gender equity. However, it needed to operate in conjunction with other gender dynamics to effectively move toward equal participation by men and women in board decision making. Supporting principles such as: including women in influential board positions; common emotional relationships between men and women directors; and directors’ adoption of gender equity as an organisational value; were critical to the success of gender quotas.
• Women on boards of directors in Australian national sporting organisations (NSOs): is gender a factor?, opens in a new tab [thesis] Anne Emms, University of Wollongong, (2014). This study concludes that, while new institutional ideas have been introduced to change board structure and practice, such as non-member elected board appointees who are recruited for their corporate governance expertise, the gender bias that has shaped historical practice remains.
• Analysing gender dynamics in sport governance: A new regimes-based approach, opens in a new tab, Adriaanse J., Schofield T., Sport Management Review, Volume 16(4), pp.498-513, (2013). An audit of 56 NSOs and in-depth interviews with board directors and chief executive officers was conducted. The data suggest that directors’ participation in sport governance was not uniform in terms of gender dynamics. Comparison of the proportion of women board members with the proportion of women who participate in each of the sports investigated suggests that women's representation remains low and men still hold the majority of senior and influential positions on boards. Although gender ratios on boards are important since they impact on power and control, there is a need to go beyond numbers to examine and understand the gender dynamics involved in the production of these ratios. Analysis of the data suggests that the following are significant in advancing gender equality in sport governance: (1) the adoption of quotas is an effective organisational strategy in achieving gender parity; (2) the occupation of women in power positions is fundamental to exercising power and authority in the decision-making of boards; (3) recognition and understanding of the organisational and governance dynamics in producing the board's gendered composition— rather than women themselves—is critical to the advancement of gender equality; (4) cooperative and collaborative behaviours that exist between men and women on a board are critical—hostility by men on boards towards women's presence and participation will undermine gender-equal governance. It is critical to emphasise that none of these structural dimensions on its own is sufficient to advance the practice of gender-equal governance. Rather, it is the combination of each of these dimensions that appears to be effective in achieving such a goal.

• WiST Career Toolkit, opens in a new tab, Women in Sports Tech, (accessed 5 April 2023). WiST is the trusted partner and mentor for women and nonbinary students and adults working in, or interested in working in, the exploding sports tech industry. To support your growth and prep you to succeed, we created the WiST Career Toolkit. Here’s what you will gain: Confidence: to approach job-seeking in a professional manner; Courage: to ask for support and advice and seek out role models; Community: for networking and building professional relationships; Education: for specific skills and advice you need to succeed.
• How to Apply A Gender LENS to Decision Making, opens in a new tab, Canadian Women and Sport, (May 2020). When you make decisions using a gender lens, you help to create the conditions for the inclusion of girls and women. Greater inclusion makes sport better for ALL involved. Put simply, using a gender lens means accounting for the different ways that different genders might experience the results of your decision.
• Gender Equity Self-Assessment Tool for Community Sport Providers, opens in a new tab, Canadian Women and Sport, (March 2020). This self–assessment tool is designed for use by community sport and physical activity providers (municipal recreation departments, boys and girls clubs, Ys, etc.) to assess whether their programs, services and facilities meet an acceptable standard of gender equity. Results will help organisations actively engage women and girls as participants and leaders.
• Balancing the Board: a toolkit to help increase women's representation on rugby boards, opens in a new tab, World Rugby, (updated February 2020). This toolkit is designed to help you improve the level of women’s representation on your Board. It provides some background information about what is needed and why, and then outlines some practical steps for getting there.
• Gender Equity Toolkit: Gender equity in the organising of Flying Disc Sports tournaments. A Tournament Directors Toolkit, opens in a new tab, World Flying Disc Federation, Women in Sport Commission, (2020). This Tournament Directors Toolkit (TDT) provides tournament organising committees with information about gender equity, and some ideas/strategies to consider when stage events that are more gender-equitable. This TDT does not attempt to cover in detail every aspect of gender equity as this is a complicated topic and around the world, there is no single approach. Local customs, culture, events and business practices must be considered. This document is a working document, which may be updated over time
• How to make an impact on gender equality in sport: All you need to know, opens in a new tab, European Union and the Council of Europe, (September 2019). This toolkit helps sports organisations and administrators to:
  • understand the extent of gender inequalities and differences in the sports world
  • understand the prevalence of gender-based violence and the added-value of moving towards gender equality in this area
  • design, implement, monitor and evaluate an action plan to achieve gender equality; understand what a gender mainstreaming strategy is
  • implement a gender mainstreaming approach in sport policies, program, actions and in sporting organisations (when devising a human-resources policy, organising sports events, developing a communication strategy, allocating funds, renovating a sport facility, etc.).
• The Leading Edge: Good practices for creating gender-equitable boards in sport, opens in a new tab, Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity, (2018). This resource provides sport leaders with information and tips to enhance good practices or dial up efforts to support gender-equitable boards. It includes information on making the case for gender-equitable boards; intentional leadership; setting clear objectives and evaluating progress; reviewing by-laws, processes and procedures; creating an inviting culture; proactively recruiting women; and providing mentoring and training opportunities.
• Women's Football Development Guide: A guide for community football clubs to develop women’s football and increase the number of females participating in the game at all levels, opens in a new tab, Football Federation Australia, (2017). This resource will provide community football clubs with practical strategies and ‘how to guides’ on the recruitment and continued involvement of female players, coaches, administrators and referees. Information relating to Female Administrators is from pages 74-93.

Clearinghouse videos

• Women in Sport - breaking the mould, Giles Thompson, CEO, Racing Victoria, Mandy Spear, COO, Titanium Security Arena, Laura Johnston, General Manager Performance and Culture, Swimming Australia, Our Sporting Future Conference (16 November 2017).
• Sport and gender equality, Kate Jenkins, Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Our Sporting Future Conference (16 November 2017).
• Linking with local Government, Amanda Spalding, Sport and Recreation NSW, Sports Talks (20 May 2013).

Videos

• Digital storytelling project, opens in a new tab, Women Win, (accessed 12 April 2023). Women Win is committed to not just telling stories of girls' sport achievement and the impact those stories have, but helping build the skill and leadership of girls to tell their own story. A collection of videos is available to listen to and view.
• IOC wraps up second Gender Equality Webinar Series with record number of attendees, opens in a new tab, International Olympic Committee, (30 March 2021). Male allyship, establishing a gender equality action plan and developing initiatives to grow the number of women technical officials were the three topics covered in the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s second Gender Equality Webinar Series for the Olympic Movement.
• Playing to win: a conversation on Australian female leadership, opens in a new tab, The Matildas, (10 March 2020). Discussion with several women including three Matildas players on their journey into leadership.
• #watchthewomen, opens in a new tab, SA Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing, YouTube, (2017). A series of videos promoting women and girls participation in sport and addressing some of the key barriers to participation at all levels.
• It Makes Sense – Gender Diversity, opens in a new tab SA Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing, YouTube, (2016). The State Sporting Organisations in South Australia for Surf Life Saving, Hockey, Australian Football, Golf and Yachting share their sports journey in a series of videos. They highlight the challenges and the successes as they move towards truly reflecting the gender diversity of the South Australian community.
• Are You On Board Campaign, opens in a new tab, VicSport, YouTube, (2015). While evidence shows that diversity is good for business, only 33 percent of all board positions available in Victorian State Sport Associations are currently held by women (as at December 2013).
  • ‘Are You On Board’- Why have a diverse committee?, opens in a new tab VicSport, YouTube, (2015). The 2015 VicSport Are You On Board campaign kicks off with a video around the importance of having diversity among committee members in grassroots sport, with particular focus on including females on committees and boards.

Licencing restrictions apply to some resources.

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