An Olympic Year, But No Medals For Diversity In Sports’ Boardrooms
Inaugural everywoman in Sports Industry Awards launches to escalate female representation
With all eyes on the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, there are no medals for diversity in the business of sport with women gravely under-represented at executive level. In a bid to address this, everywoman – the global platform for women in business – had announced the launch of the inaugural everywoman in Sports Industry Awards.
The awards seek to identify women working in businesses that are the backbone of the sports industry – from manufacturers of sports clothing and equipment and sports tech companies to those working in senior roles within sports clubs and providing services to sport professionals. By celebrating their achievements and sharing their career stories, the awards will create a generation of role models to inspire future talent and business success.
British sport is an economic powerhouse, generating an estimated annual revenue of over £28 billion. Despite a growing workforce of close to 900,000, women remain woefully under-represented in the boardroom. Just 8% of board members at professional English sports clubs are female with over half of all professional sports clubs in England without any female representation on their boards*.
Awards patron, Judy Murray, herself a pioneer in professional sport, is patron of the programme and has felt first-hand the challenges of being a woman in professional sport. She comments: “There is a shortage of female representation in key decision-making positions within sport, but it’s not just about men withholding access. There is a deep social conditioning that has led to women being less assertive, less confident and less likely to take risks. If we have more women in the industry, I think we will retain girls in sport for longer.”
Over 20 years, everywoman has created thousands of female role models and inspired generations of future leaders through its industry specific awards programmes. Research shows that when women have access to female role models in business, they are more engaged with their organisations and more likely to advance further into senior positions.**
Nominations are invited for the 2020 everywoman in Sports Industry Awards categories as follows:
Special Recognition Awards
- Grassroots Inspiration Award: Awarded to an individual who has had a significant impact in driving female participation in sport at a grassroots level. This could be a coach / trainer or someone who works in a voluntary capacity to increase participation in sport.
- Campaign of the Year: Awarded to an agency or company that has delivered a standout campaign elevating the profile of women/girls in sport in the UK.
- Male Advocate of Change: Awarded to a man who is actively committed to advocating for greater gender representation in his company and/or the wider sports industry.
Category Awards
For each category, there will be a ‘Rising Star’ and a ‘Leader Award’ (excluding the Campaign of the Year and Male Agent of Change Awards where there will only be one winner per category):
Rising Star – Awarded to a woman under 30 who is excelling in her career and making a valuable contribution to her organisation.
Leader – Celebrates women working in a managerial/director/leadership capacity in an organisation who is an inspirational role model for women looking to pursue a career in the sport industry.
- Technology & Innovation: This is awarded to a woman who is furthering tech and innovation within the industry, working either within a sports tech company/start up or within a tech/product development/innovation related role within the sports industry.
- Sports Brand: Awarded to a woman who is excelling in her role within a sports apparel, sports equipment or sports nutrition brand.
- Health and Wellbeing: Awarded to a woman either within or outside the sport industry who is focused on using sport as a solution to improve the wellbeing and mental health of others.
- Services to Sport: Awarded to a woman excelling in her role within a company providing services that support the sports industry (e.g. insurance, law, financial services, sport management agencies).
- Sport and Sporting Event Organisations: Awarded to a woman working in professional sports team management, for a sports event organiser, or in an association who is excelling in her role and is contributing in some way to getting more women/girls involved in sport.
- Sports Venues, Stadiums and Hospitality: Awarded to a woman who is excelling in her role working within a sporting venue (such as a stadium, club etc) or in the sports hospitality industry.
The awards are free to enter and nominations close on 18 May 2020. Please see https://www.everywoman.com/events-awards/everywoman-in-sport-awards for more information. Winners will be announced at a ceremony on 8 October 2020.
Karen Gill MBE, Co-founder of everywoman, comments: “In a year when all eyes are going to be on British sporting achievement, we must nurture and celebrate the female talent that will enable the industry to thrive and grow. Our aim is to recognise brilliant women from across the spectrum – from those leading change at local, grassroots level through to creative innovators and industry leaders. In order to change perceptions and encourage tomorrow’s brightest stars we have to ensure a strong and diverse pipeline of talent.”
