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MacLean's Magazine, in it's 2011 Toronto Blue Jays Special Edition, included an article entitled "Is 30 the New 50?" (not yet available online). The article questions whether quotas on female representation on Boards of Directors should set at 30%, as has become customary in some corners of the business world. The article argues that while these quotas do ensure more participation of women on the board in the short term, they also solidify women as the minority. Others also argue that a quota of 30% is not enough women to create a critical mass on the board.

Since when did women settle for only 30%? Women represent, at least in Canada, over 50% of new university graduates, and have for a number of years now. Women are also the majority of law school and medical school graduates. Based on education alone it seems as if women are capable of getting beyond the 30% target.

The lack of representation of women in positions of power span beyond the business world in Canada. In a study that I conducted for the Play the Game Conference in 2009, I learned that women make up less than 30% of the members of the Board of Governors (the most powerful bodies) in each National Sport Organization that was analyzed. In selecting the sports for the study I carefully chose sports that had high female and male participation rates. Some sports did worse than others. Soccer (football on the chart below-the conference was in the UK) did particularly poorly. While the sport had over 40% female participation as an athlete in the sport in Canada, they had less than 10% representation on the Board of Governors.

While there is clearly a problem with female participation within the power structures of organized sport, the real- and much harder question- is how do we tackle this power imbalance? How do women gain more seats at the table? I agree with the MacLean's article that establishing hard quotas are not necessarily the answer, especially not at a 30% target.

Australia recently announced an interesting approach at the problem. They created a women in sport leadership registration database for women interested in gaining positions within amateur sport organizations on the various boards and committees. This is a way for women who are outside the social structure of the "old boys club" to get on the radar of sports organizations and make a case for why they should be admitted to the "club." Australia also established a grant program which allows women who may not want to participate on boards for financial reasons (they do take up a lot of time and time is money).

I think that the Australia approach, coupled with a firm commitment by all National Sport Organizations to increase representation within the power structures of sport organizations would help solve the gender power imbalance that still exists in all sports.

What do you think?

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