Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women in Sports Industry Making Progress, But Still Facing Gender Bias

Women in the sports industry are making significant progress, with more women taking on leadership roles and advocating for better policies. This has led to increased media coverage and record attendance at women’s sporting events. However, despite this progress, barriers and gender bias still persist in the sports industry.

A survey conducted by the Sport Integrity Global Alliance in 2023 found that only 26.9 percent of executive positions in international sport federations are held by women, and only three out of 31 International Sports Federations have women in top leadership positions. While there have been improvements in terms of gender diversity within the International Olympic Committee, there is still a significant gender gap when it comes to coaching and leadership roles within athletes’ entourages.

However, there are also positive examples of progress being made within specific sports organizations. For instance, World Athletics has achieved gender parity on its Council four years ahead of schedule and set a goal to increase the number of female coaches to at least 20 percent by the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in 2025. These advancements demonstrate that change is possible when efforts are made to increase gender diversity and opportunities for women in leadership roles within the sports industry.