Sports boardrooms across Australia must meet new gender quotas by 2027, or risk losing government funding.
This means 50 percent of all board directors need to be women by July 1, 2027, under the National Gender Equity in Sport Governance Policy announced on Sept. 10.
A broader target aims to ensure 50 percent of all board chairs are women, while 50 percent of subcommittee members will also need to be females.
The policy is a joint initiative between the federal government, Australian Sports Commission, and state and territory recreation agencies.
Labor Sports Minister Anika Wells said penalties were available for non-compliance.
Currently, 62 percent of national sporting groups funded by the government are estimated to have reached their gender targets, while only 25 percent of organisations, including those for people with disability, are chaired by women.
Explaining the policy, Wells said Australia’s sporting systems were not equal and this policy would help address the “gender imbalances” in sports leadership.
“We need more women making decisions for more women,” Wells claimed.
“Diversity within an organisation’s senior roles provides a more complete mix of skills, perspectives and experiences, resulting in better decision-making and improved performance.”
The mandate will not apply to community clubs, associations or private professional clubs and leagues. The government however, is still inviting them to voluntarily adopt the policy.
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Australian Sports Commission Chair Kate Jenkins described the news as an important step forward.“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,” said the former sex discrimination commissioner.
Meanwhile, the minister for women, Senator Katy Gallagher said the policy was not just good for women, but would help ensure sport is equal for all.
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Former Liberal Party candidate for Warringah and women’s rights advocate, Katherine Deves, said it would create “more opportunities for mediocre men in dress-ups.”“Kind of irrelevant now any man who says he is a woman is one.”
Fellow advocate Angie Jones said “gender diversity” was meaningless in the current environment.
Are Gender Quotas Positive?
A Florida Atlantic University study argued its case against board diversity mandates saying quotas were a “net negative to firms, shareholders, and other stakeholders.”“Specifically, quotas often lead to the appointment of female directors with political or family connections. Evidence from Norway, which enacted the world’s first board gender quota, indicates that several public firms chose to delist from the stock exchange rather than to face growing regulations.”
“Quotas may actually undermine a woman’s sense of self-efficacy, and if board members believe the appointment wasn’t made on merit, her impact can be neutralised,” said Associate Professor Terrance Fitsimmons.
