Farrer & Co Women in Sport - Report - Page 18
Percentage of female representation
across the three largest participation sports:
FA Board
40%
England & Wales Cricket Board
33%
RFU Board
29%
Why change?
Unquestionably, the UK’s NGBs have
had the threat of serious financial loss
hanging over their heads unless they
changed. In contrast, the professional
clubs have not and therefore the
immediate financial incentive has not
been there to initiate change or, it might
be said, to modernise. It will also be the
case that historic factors will exist in
varying degrees, which are likely to have
reinforced the status quo, no doubt led
by the fact that it “has always been this
way”. While the lack of financial
sanction if no change is made is most
likely to be the most significant issue,
this is to ignore the positive reasons for
bringing about greater development.
They are many, but include:
• While it is not the role of this paper
to delve into the detail of good board
governance, studies by the likes of
Harvard Business School, McKinsey
and others all point in the same
direction: diverse boards make better
decisions and are invariably more
profitable (by about 10-15%). Having a
range of views around the board table
improves the management of risk and
prevents board members reinforcing
the thinking of others in circumstances
where they are predominantly cut from
the same cloth
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It is plainly incongruous
in sports with the
intention of increasing
female participation
that there is little if any
female representation
on the boards of their
leading clubs.
• While most professional clubs would
ordinarily relish the concept of
growing their profitability by 10-15%
as against their competitors (though
we do not suggest this is possible
year-on-year), a reduction in risk is the
other side of the coin. If you reduce
risk in a business, the probability is
you reduce cost and are more likely
to avoid significant events which
harm the business, thus both feed
into greater profitability
• The FA, the ECB and the RFU have
the women’s game central to their
strategies, which plan for the future
growth of female participation.
Having clubs similarly aligned is
clearly much more likely to assist
in delivering the NGBs’ strategies
• The women’s games need their
champions at their sports’ top tables
to best develop participation. Again,
greater participation leads to an
increased propensity for longer term
sporting success (however defined),
which in turn feeds the profitability
and sustainability of the sport
• It is plainly incongruous in sports
with the intention of increasing female
participation that there is little, if any
female representation on the boards
of their leading clubs. Those clubs
that have strong, active women’s sides
should lead on this issue, thereby
making a clear statement about the
correct direction of travel. This is
not about being ‘woke’, but driven
by both economics and the long-term
development of each sport, with each
club having a responsibility to do so.
That is not to say there are not positive
changes coming. At page 30, there is
a brief explanation of FIFA’s 40:40:20
policy. In a sign of changing times,
football’s international authority –
not so long ago a corrupt, anarchistic
organisation – has introduced a policy
to ensure 40% of boards in football are
female. This will take some time to filter
down to clubs given that continental
federations are to introduce it first,
followed by the national governing
bodies in that federation and then
clubs. However, this top-down approach
will bring about important change.
It is perfectly possible for The FA/
Premier League, the ECB and the RFU
to take a lead and look at how they
bring about faster change as part of
their development strategies. The
RFU has had, for example, financial
incentives for Premiership clubs
to meet thresholds for the number
of English qualified players in their
match day squads.
Women in Sport – Levelling the playing field
