This is the third report from the Commission on the Future of Women’s Sport examining the leadership profile of national governing body (NGB) boards and senior management teams.
There has been some progress since we published the last audit:
The proportion of female board members has risen from 20% in 2010 to 22%, and the number of NGBs without any women on their board has dropped from 10 in 2010 to 6.
There has also been an increase in the number of women in executive leadership positions. We welcome this progress and congratulate those NGBs who have increased the diversity of their boards and leadership teams.
One of the most notable developments since the last report has been the appointment of Heather Rabbatts as The FA’s first female board member. We take great encouragement from the fact that the largest and most commercial NGB has recognised the value of having women involved at board level. Of the ten sports that were named in our 2010 report as having no women on their boards, the Amateur Boxing Association of England, British Canoe Union, British Judo, the Rugby Football Union and Pentathlon GB have all joined The FA in appointing women to their board.
However, the fact that women still account for only 22% of board members is wholly inadequate. In the first of our reports, “Trophy Women? Why a balanced board is good business for sport” the Commission set out very clearly the business case for diverse boards – an argument more recently underlined by Lord Davies and his review of the business sector. There can be no doubt that a lack of diversity at the top of British sport has consequences for its performance from the elite to grass roots, and the Commission, in publishing this year’s figures, calls again for concerted action to improve the profile of sports governance and leadership.
The Commission will continue to work with Sport England, UK Sport and DCMS to develop a package of proposals to encourage and support NGBs to reap the benefits that a balanced board will offer them.
