Developing female leaders

The Coalition Government is calling for applications for the Women Leaders in Sport program, which assists females involved in sport with grants and leadership development.

The Women Leaders in Sport program has provided support to more than 24,000 women since 2002, assisting to develop their leadership potential in the sports industry.

Previous participants in the program have included Olympic rowing gold medallist and Deputy Chair of the Australian Olympic Committee’s Athletes Commission, Kim Brennan; former Australian cricketer and Cricket NSW board member, Alex Blackwell; and Tracey Scott, General Manager Leagues, Football Federation Australia.

Sports Minister, Senator The Hon Bridget McKenzie, said the program is crucial to ensuring women continue to develop leadership skills across Australian sports sector.

“Previous recipients have said the program helped increase opportunities for them to move into senior leadership roles in the sports industry. This feedback shows just how important this program continues to be after so many years,” Senator McKenzie said.

“Sport in Australia is an $83 billion industry and we need to ensure that all of our leaders, from athletes right through to administrators, have the skills to lead the sporting industry into the future”.

Minister for Women, The Hon Kelly O’Dwyer, said the Women Leaders in Sport program provides excellent opportunities for future female leaders in the sport sector.

“The Australian Government is pushing for equal representation of women in leadership roles in all industries. While we’ve seen a rise in the profile of women’s sport generally, we want to ensure there’s continued opportunity for women to pursue leadership roles and careers in sport as administrators, coaches, officials and leaders,” Minister O’Dwyer said.

“By the calibre of participants in this program, I’m very much looking forward to seeing the next generation of women leaders moving into senior roles in the sports sector soon.”

The 2019 Women Leaders in Sport program comprises of leadership workshops for individuals and organisations, as well as development grants of up to $3,000 (individuals), and up to $20,000 (organisations).

The Australian Sports Commission, recently branded Sport Australia, will continue to jointly fund the program with Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Office for Women,

Applications for the Development Grants and Leadership Workshops open on August 8 and close on 5 September 2018. For more information and applications go to www.ausport.gov.au/wlis.