Toronto, ON (November 9, 2023) – Canadian Women & Sport unveiled today new data looking at gender equity and diversity in leadership roles across the Canadian sport sector.
The Women in Sport Leadership Snapshot 2023 highlights and celebrates recent successes in sport leadership diversity at the national and provincial and territorial levels. It also challenges sport organizations to continue to embed gender equity in their organizations and bring diversity, beyond gender, to their boards and senior leadership teams so more women, girls, and gender-diverse people are represented in the sport system and can benefit from the power of sport.
Key findings from Women in Sport Leadership Snapshot 2023 include:
- 43% of national sport organizations board members are women – this is an increase of 2% from 2022 and a 9% increase from 2018
- 40% of national board chairs are women – this represents an increase of 2% from 2022
- At the staff leadership level (CEO, VP and Director level), gender equity has remained stable over time and is notably higher than most other industries in Canada
- 54% of National Sport Organizations (NSOs) currently meet the gender equity requirement set forth by the Government of Canada’s Sport Governance Code.
- 7% of national organizations and 11% of surveyed provincial/territorial organizations still have no women or gender-diverse representation on their boards or only one woman. This highlights an area that requires ongoing attention and action.
“It is encouraging to see progress with women taking more key leadership positions in sport. Clear commitments from all levels of governments, dedicated funding sources and strong leadership from within sport organizations have continued to drive gender equity in sport leadership forward,” said Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, CEO, Canadian Women & Sport. “While there is still much work to be done to ensure that sport leadership reflects the full diversity of Canadian society, many sport organizations are doing the work to embed gender equity in their leadership.”
In 2022, the Government of Canada introduced reforms to the Canadian Sport Governance Code that require NSOs to have no more than 60% of any gender on their boards by April 2025.
“Women in Sport Leadership Snapshot 2023 data shows many organizations are on track to meet the requirements of the Canadian Sport Governance Code. We applaud the government’s decision to embed gender equity into organizational policy. Our team at Canadian Women & Sport is fully committed to supporting organizations as they take action to meet these targets,” added Sandmeyer-Graves.
Women in Sport Leadership Snapshot 2023 serves as a resource for sport organizations, policymakers, and stakeholders to assess the current state of gender diversity in leadership positions within the Canadian sports industry.
This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada.
For more information and access to the full report, please visit: https://womenandsport.ca/resources/research-insights/leadership-snapshot/
For More Information
Greg McIsaac
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greg@junctioncommunications.com
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