Empowering Women in Sports Leadership

ongoing

Despite the significant increase in women’s participation in sports over the past decades, their representation in leadership roles remains disproportionately low across all levels and domains. Sports governing bodies are primarily dominated by men, while women continue to be largely invisible, frequently excluded from influential roles within sports governing bodies. The underrepresentation of women in leadership positions, particularly in coaching and executive roles, points to deeply ingrained structural and cultural barriers that continue to marginalise and exclude women from accessing power and opportunities in sports organisations. LeadHerGame is a response to the persistent inequalities in sports leadership. Unlike traditional approaches that frame women as passive subjects constrained by structural barriers, LeadHerGame acknowledges that women are active agents who constantly negotiate, resist, and challenge these forms of power. The project aims to empower women and promote systemic change in the sports world by focusing on three core pillars: (1) Promoting Gender Mainstreaming and Creating an Equality Action Plan for Sports Organisations: This pillar focuses on developing an equality action plan, based on gender mainstreaming that sports organisations and federations can easily implement. (2) Promoting Visibility and Media Campaigns: The second pillar focuses on raising awareness and increasing the visibility of female role models in sports through a multifaceted media campaign that addresses both the quantitative and qualitative biases in sports coverage. Men will also be actively involved as allies in the media strategy. (3) Developing Leadership Skills and Networks: The third pillar focuses on building leadership skills and capacity through tailored training and professional development opportunities for women in sports.