Female Athletes Make Great Leaders
Female athletes are uniquely positioned to bring advantages into the boardroom
It is widely known that when girls participate in sport, they reap the physical, social and psychological benefits of healthy, active lifestyles. But did you know that athletics and sport participation can also help propel a woman’s career, improves a woman's leadership potential and significantly impacts her perception on her ability to lead? These early perceptions have a profound influence in the workforce.
94% of women in the C-suite played sport, including 52% at university level.
And three-quarters of women in leadership surveyed say that a background in sport can help to accelerate a woman’s career. With research on this correlation on the rise, there is no doubt that there is a positive connection between female sport participation and professional success. The intangible skills and foundation of values laid down by early sport participation are directly transferable to the boardroom.
Physical activity and sport allows girls to grow up healthy and confident, and many former athletes turned executives say that focus, strong work ethic, determination and leadership skills they learned on the playing field were key to their career success.
Female athletes tend to see projects through to completion more often, motivate others, build strong teams, and even earn 7% higher wages compared to non-athletes.
Sports teach you character. It teaches you to play by the rules. It teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose. It teaches you about life.
- Billie Jean King,
Former World No. 1 professional tennis player, advocate for gender equality and social justice and Founder of the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation
Making a difference
While countries like Canada are making headway in the gender gap between girls in sport and women in leadership roles, we still have a lot of work to do. With 82% of women aged 25-54 participating in Canada’s workforce, they continue to be underrepresented in professional and political roles. Women hold only 25% of VP positions and 15% of CEO positions in the top 500 companies and organizations.
Studies show women want to lead, but something is holding them back. 76% of women surveyed in a KPMG study said they wish that they would have learned more about leadership and had more opportunities to learn how to lead when they were growing up.
Girls drop out of sport 3x more than boys in adolescence and 25% of girls recently surveyed say they aren’t committed to returning to sport post-COVID.
At the same time, female participation in sport is on the decline, specifically starting in the teen years. The ripple effect of this dropout will have huge ramifications in the future of our female leaders.
But through programs, role models and training, girls and young women can be encouraged to pursue leadership roles and stay active in physical activity and sport. These ideal experiences for girls will increase self-confidence, resulting in the ability of our future female leaders to function more openly and equally in their homes, schools and communities.
There has traditionally been a narrow definition of leadership, who is chosen for these roles and who aspires to take them on. Girls look to positive role models and mentors for encouragement. By fostering fun, supportive environments where diversity is celebrated in leadership, we can broaden our perception of what and who makes a great leader.
Sources: KPMG, Ernst and Young, espnW, Canadian Women and Sport
