Australia’s sports boards face a simple choice: embrace gender equity or lose funding.

The Australian Government has introduced a policy aimed at improving gender equity in sports governance across the country. 

The new National Gender Equity in Sport Governance Policy mandates that by July 2027, 50 per cent of board directors, chairs, and sub-committee members in national and state sports bodies must be women and/or gender diverse. 

Organisations failing to meet these targets risk losing government funding.

Developed in collaboration with the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), state and territory sport agencies, and the Albanese Government, the policy addresses the continued underrepresentation of women in sports leadership roles, despite near-equal participation rates in sport between men and women. 

“We need more women making decisions for more women,” says Minister for Sport Anika Wells.

“Our sporting systems are not equal, and this policy will help address the gender imbalances prevalent in sports leadership.”

Currently, only 25 per cent of national sporting organisations and sporting bodies for people with disabilities have women as chairs, though 62 per cent of these organisations meet the target for gender diversity among directors. 

The policy will apply to all recognised national sporting bodies, including those for people with disabilities, but will exclude community clubs, associations, and professional leagues. 

However, these groups are encouraged to voluntarily adopt the policy.

“While this policy focuses on gender equity, it sets a framework to improve representation of all elements of diversity, including age, cultural background, and disability in the longer term,” says Kate Jenkins AO, Chair of the ASC.

Organisations will be required to report their progress annually through a Sports Governance Standards self-assessment. 

Failure to comply with the targets may result in funding withdrawal, underscoring the government's commitment to structural change within the sports sector.

This initiative aligns with the government’s broader Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality, which aims to promote gender equality in leadership, representation, and decision-making across various sectors, including sport.

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