Women representation and organisational characteristics in sport governance: Implications for gender policy and practice

ABSTRACT Drawing on hegemonic masculinity and critical mass theory, this study investigates the representation of women board members in sport governing bodies (SGB) and the extent to which boards can be assigned to subgroups based on the number and share of women board members. The study examines the organisational characteristics of SGBs with low, medium, and high representation of women on the board. Data were gathered from the websites of German national and state sport associations and federations (n = 930), including information about the size and gender composition of the board and several organisational characteristics (e.g. type of sport, headquarter location, membership figures). On average, SGBs have 1.8 women on the board reflecting a share of 20.1%. Three groups of SGBs emerged from the cluster analysis: Organisations with low (0.08 women; share of women: 0.3%), medium (1.63; 18.4%), and high representation of women (3.87; 42.6%) on the board. These clusters differ significantly regarding organisational characteristics. Specifically, SGBs with low representation of women have on average smaller boards and represent non-Olympic sports or ‘typically masculine’ sports. Sport federations are more frequently represented in the clusters with medium and high representation of women on the board. SGBs in the third cluster represent ‘typically feminine’ sports like dancing or equestrian and have the most women and youth memberships. The findings help sport policy makers target respective groups of organisations with interventions to implement gender policies and explain the important role of such policies for attracting new women board members or gaining legitimacy from public institutions.