April Fool’s Day is coming up. So when I received a press release about a board dominated by women, I had to double-check the calendar.
No it’s not a prank. Sport NSW, the peak body representing sport in the state, has just appointed three women to its board, seeing its female representation hit the 60% mark.
And according to Sport NSW CEO Cheryl Battaerd, it wasn’t actually that hard to find the women. By seeking new names for its three open board positions via a nomination process, which hadn’t previously been done, they invited applications by advertising widely — including with Women on Boards, Pro Bono Australia and within their own existing newsletters.
“As it turned out the top five applicants were women and eight of the top ten were women,” Battaerd tells me.
Joining the organisation in 2013, Battaerd did a skills and experience analysis of the existing board to determine which gaps they could fill with fresh blood in order to meet their priorities and strategic plans for the next few years. She knew the sport expertise the organisation required was already well covered with the seven existing elected members, but they needed individuals who could help with government lobbying, advocacy, corporate partnerships and health and safety.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen women dominate a sporting board: Netball Australia and Pony Club Australia have boasted female representation around the 80% mark for a number of years. Meanwhile, last year the AOC announced three new female appointments, inching it closer to the 50:50 mark.
But it’s unusual. According to 2013 research by Women on Boards, 24.4% of directorships at national sporting bodies are held by women, a handful still do not have any women on their board. So far this financial year, less than 30% of new such board appointments have gone to women.
These figures are still much stronger than over on the ASX 500 where less than 10% of board positions were found to be held by women in late 2012. Women are snapping up sports board positions faster than corporate positions, but sadly it’s often the area where board positions are unpaid.
Still, Sport NSW set out to appoint three new board members based on specific experience and expertise and with a mantra to incorporate a diverse mix of thought and they found three people with the right skills.
This time, they all just happened to be women.
The organisation is also supporting the training and development of more female directors, running a three-day foundation course for women aspiring to join boards in the future.
The new independent directors include Matthews Folbigg Lawyers director Fay Calderone, management consultant Megan Lavender and communications expert and advisor to corporates and state and federal MPs, Katherine O’Regan. They join a number of existing women on the board and female CEO, Battaerd.
Calderone’s appointment is especially exciting as she took home our Emerging Leader in the Private Sector prize at the recent NAB Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards, although she says the accolade didn’t quite make it onto the CV when she applied for this position.
Sport NSW has tipped the balance well past the 30% mark, uncovering new talent that will bring exceptional skills and expertise to the table. These women widen the pool of experienced female board directors, and hopefully the list of women who’ll recommend other women for such roles in the future.