Global index shows slight rise in women in sport leadership roles

The latest update to the Sydney Scoreboard, a global index for women in sport leadership, shows a slight increase in the 2014 proportion of women representation in sport’s leadership positions compared to 2010.

With data based on 38 countries and 1,599 national sport governing bodies, the index shows a slight increase in the proportion of women board directors in sports organisations worldwide (up to 20.7% from 19.7% in 2010).

The proportion of women in chief executive positions is also up from 17.3% in 2010 to 19.8% this year although the proportion of female board chairs has stagnated at 10.6% - equivalent to what it was in 2010.

The index has been collecting data since 2010, when it was introduced as the legacy of the 5th International Working Group on Women and Sport (IWG) World Conference on Women and Sport held in Sydney.

Although the numbers themselves do not cause great applause from the developers of the index, they are very satisfied with the scorecard, which is thought to have great potential.

Dr. Johanna Adriaanse, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management at the University of Technology, Sydney and IWG Co-Chair from 2006 to 2014 explains "the Sydney Scoreboard offers a new level of transparency and accountability to gender equality in sport leadership."

The index works as an open data-collection where anyone can submit their information about the composition of their particular organisations’ executive boards.

On the IWG website, Dr. Adriaanse continues “I encourage all members of the global women’s sport movement to actively engage with this unique tool and use it to advocate for, and accelerate, the representation of women in sport governance and senior management. True equality for women in sport means progress for all.”

Dr. Adriiaanse (pictured below) will be delivering a keynote address at the upcoming 2014 Asia Pacific World Sport and Women (APWSW) conference - being held at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the 27th and 28th October 2014.

The 2nd Biennial APWSW conference will be considering the business of women in sport featuring high-profile speakers from a cross-section of backgrounds from grass roots to professional athletes. 

The APWSW conference is anticipated to bring together 600 representatives from international and national sports governing bodies, sporting associations, athletes, coaches, corporate partners and all practitioners in the sporting world, to discuss how to increase women’s involvement in the business of sport from grassroots participation to board level representation.

For more information on the Sydney Scoreboard go to www.sydneyscoreboard.com/

Click here for more information on the APWSW conference.

Click here to register for the APWSW conference.