Funding to support female leaders in Australian sport

More women will reach their leadership potential with the Australian Government investing an additional $3.4 million over four years for the highly regarded Women Leaders in Sport (WLIS) program. 

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, said more than 25,000 women across the country had benefited from the initiative since it started in 2002. 

“WLIS is helping improve outcomes for Australian women in areas including job creation, workforce participation and leadership,” Minister Payne said.

“We are focused on ensuring women already working in our sport sector, and those interested in employment opportunities, have the professional development and dedicated support needed to reach their full leadership potential.”

“Our increased commitment to this important program will help support the success of women aspiring to leadership positions in Australian sport”.

The WLIS program is managed by Sport Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), under a partnership with the Office for Women.

In February, Sport Australia opened grant applications for the WLIS Development Grants and Leadership Workshops, which will provide: 

·         Individuals with a grant up to the value of $10,000 to support their professional development,

·         Organisations with a grant up to the value of $20,000 to provide professional development courses to employees, and

·         Opportunities for individuals to undertake online WLIS Leadership Workshops.

Minister for Sport, Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, said the WLIS grants will provide women in Australian sport with opportunities to gain new skills, knowledge and qualifications to progress their leadership journey.

“One of our key objectives with WLIS is to support as many women in sport as we can, from the start of their careers, right through to the boardroom,” Minister Colbeck said. 

“This program is playing a key role in developing our next female leaders across the industry and ultimately what we want to see is a more balanced workforce that is more representative of our diverse sporting community”.

Eligibility criteria and information on how to apply for the WLIS Development Grants and Leadership Workshops can be found here. Applications close March 17. 

The Program is funded under the Government’s Women’s Leadership and Development Program (WLDP).