South Australia supports new national policy to empower more women in sport

The South Australian Government has welcomed this week’s announcement of the National Gender Equity in Sports Governance Policy while highlighting their progress to date.

Central to the Federal Government’s national policy are gender equity targets which have been set for the governance of national and state level sport bodies.

Through the SA Government Women in Leadership initiative, State Sporting Organisations are currently required to have a minimum of 40% women members on their board to maintain eligibility for the State Sport and Recreation Development Program funding.

In 2016, 34% of state sporting organisations met this quota. Currently, 94% are meeting this quota.

South Australian Minister for Sport Katrine Hildyard noted “our Government is determined to advance initiatives that help ensure girls and women can equally and actively participate in community life and have their contributions valued, respected and encouraged, including in sport, and we are proud of our actions in this space.

“Diversity within an organisation’s leadership ensures a mix of skills, perspectives and experiences, resulting in better decision-making and improved performance.

“The National Gender Equity in Sport Governance Policy is an excellent initiative which will help to advance this diversity in sport and I commend the Australian Sports Commission and State and Territory Agencies for Sport and Recreation for their work in developing the policy.

“I look forward to supporting the implementation of the policy in South Australia in ways that build on our ground-breaking efforts in this space and to working together with other states and territories to achieve enduring change across sport.”

The National Gender Equity in Sports Governance Policy has also introduced standards regarding chairpersons and specified sub-committees.

Along with other states and territories, South Australia will adopt its own mechanisms to reach the targets and continue to support organisations to achieve improvements in board diversity including the representation of women.

The national policy is a collaboration between the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and the State and Territory Agencies for Sport and Recreation.

In addition to introducing the Women in Leadership initiative, the SA Government has also:

• Announced the $18 million ‘The Power of Her’ Infrastructure and Participation grant program to deepen the legacy of the FIFA Women's World Cup, providing dedicated facilities, improvements and programs that will grow female sporting participation.

• Re-established the Women in Sport Taskforce to advise government on methods to promote women's participation and leadership in sport and address the issues preventing women and girls fully participating in their sporting passions.

• Implemented the Raiise Respectful Club Environments Program as part of the FIFA Women's World Cup legacy plan to create inclusive sporting club environments that foster attitudes and behaviours that advance gender equality, inclusion, and diversity (including raising awareness of coercive control).

• Funded the ‘Game Changing. Period.’ program to raise awareness about menstruation and sport and enabled clubs to use Active Club funding to purchase pads and tampons, inclusive uniforms or to run menstrual health awareness programs.

Visit the ASC website for more information on the National Gender Equity in Sports Governance Policy.

Image. South Australian Minister for Sport Katrine Hildyard