Progress towards Gender Balance on Boards - Leadership Composition Snapshot 3

In line with its Policy on Women in Sport, Sport Ireland has published the latest snapshot of female representations on the boards of funded National Governing Bodies of Sport and Local Sports Partnerships.

The snapshot is published as part of the Leadership & Governance pillar of the Sport Ireland Women in Sport Policy and outlines the current position and progress made since the publication of the Policy.

A key objective of the Leadership and Governance target area is to progress towards greater gender balance in board membership of funded bodies. The second objective is to provide a pathway for women aspiring to become leaders of funded bodies.

The first update, published in March 2020, showed that females made up an average of 29% of boards across funded National Governing Bodies. This was an increase from 24% when the Sport Ireland Policy on Women in Sport was published in 2019. This figure now stands at 32% in National Governing Bodies (including Sport Ireland, the Federation of Irish Sport, Olympic Federation of Ireland and Paralympics Ireland). This figure has remained the same in Local Sports Partnerships over the last year with females accounting for 37% of Board members.

Commenting on the snapshot, the Minister of State for Sport and Gaeltacht Affairs Jack Chambers TD said: “The figures in this snapshot are encouraging and I am delighted to see that the average number of females on NGB Boards has increased to 32%. I want to acknowledge the significant efforts that sporting bodies are now making around gender diversity on their boards. It is evident, however, that more work needs to be done. In the new Action Plan for Sport 2021-2023 we are asking all NGBs to achieve 40% gender representation on their boards by the end of 2023.  It is a particular priority for me to enable women to take more leadership positions in sport and the 40% reflects this prioritisation.”

Sport Ireland Director of Participation and Ethics, Dr Una May, commented; “Under the National Sports Policy and the latest Sports Action Plan, NGB’s are well underway for reaching, the Government’s target for State Boards of a minimum of 40% representation of each gender in the membership of their Boards by the end of 2023. While the snapshot is released annually, the work continues daily throughout the year. Sport Ireland works closely with organisations to provide resources and support to attain gender diversity, in particular in the make-up of boards and this progress can be seen in the most recent snapshot”. 

As well as acknowledging the board composition of funded bodies, Sport Ireland is also monitoring the proportion of women in leadership positions within funded bodies. At present, female CEOs represent 28% of the total CEOs in NGBs (including the Federation of Irish Sport, Olympic Federation and Paralympics Ireland). Ten NGBs have a female President while 15% of Boards have a female Chairperson. Females also account for 46% of Coordinator roles in the Local Sports Partnerships and 21% of Chairs of these Boards are female.

Sport Ireland hosted a series of webinars for CEOs, LSP Co-ordinators and Board members on the best practice framework for developing and maintaining gender diverse Boards. These webinars will continue in the coming year.

Sport Ireland Women in Sport Lead, Nora Stapleton, added: “This latest snapshot shows that progress continues to be made in addressing gender balance on the boards of National Governing Bodies and Local Sports Partnerships. Numerous NGBs and LSPs continue to deliver excellent Women in Sport Leadership programmes”.

Information correct as of 31st Oct 2021.

NGBs with 30% or more women in their Board

NGBs with less than 30% women on their Board

NGBs with a 60/40 split of gender on their Board