Farrer & Co Women in Sport - Report - Page 5
“Of the “Big
Six”, only four
board places
out of 35 are
occupied
by women”
Why does any of this matter?
Answer: as much as it is about doing
“the right thing”, the more detailed
answer is manifold but includes:
Of the “Big Six”, only four board places
out of 35 are occupied by women. Of
the 24 clubs in the Championship, only
six have a woman on their board (and
five of those have only one woman).
In cricket, no clubs have reached 20%
female representation, while three clubs
have none. In the Premiership, seven
clubs have no women, with only
Exeter Rugby Chiefs meeting the 30%
threshold, albeit there are no female
directors of its holding company.
Amount of clubs that
meet the 30% target:
1
Premier
League Football
1
Championship
Rugby
Farrer & Co
0
County
Cricket
0
Championship
Football
• If the governing bodies’ strategies
are to grow the women’s game,
to make it truly happen the clubs
need to be aligned
• If the sports wish to grow female
participation, as they say they do,
having more women on the respective
boards is fundamental
• It is empirically the case that diverse
boards make better decisions,
whether as regards to managing
risk or making an organisation
more profitable
• Why would you ignore 50% of your
potential audience and participants?
• The opportunities for significant
economic growth for both sports
and individual clubs are real: the
entry costs are low; the potential for
audience growth is enormous; and
there are obvious brand alignment
opportunities, to name but three
• Volunteering at all levels remains
critical to the success of all sports
in this country. Mothers, grandmothers
and sisters play key roles, whether
as team managers, drivers, umpires
or club and bar managers. Their
voices should be represented
• Today’s female participants (on or
off the field) are tomorrow’s mothers,
of both boys and girls. For the longterm benefit of all sports – male or
female – we want and need female
participation in sport. It is not just
dads that hand down the genes
and the inspiration
• Pure and simple, it is about
equal opportunity.
The results of our research does not
surprise us. The disparity between
NGBs and professional clubs was
entirely expected, however stark the
numbers. This is not a threat to clubs,
but an opportunity. Those that grasp
the issue the most quickly will make the
greatest gains. Yes, it will take some time
before prize money and pay equals out,
but that reflects the commercial reality.
Indeed, it is possible that there will
not ultimately be absolute equality on
these issues. However, those are the
issues that matter more to the headline
writers; the issues highlighted above
should matter more to sport.
This paper has taken a great deal of
energy and input. I am deeply grateful to
The FA and the RFU for their willingness
to contribute. Thank you. There is also
“Team Farrers”, more than ably assisted
by the firm’s agency, Farrer Kane. Again,
to you un-named warriors, a genuine
and heartfelt thank you.
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