Sports minister eyes 'improved recruitment' process for female leaders in sport

Tracey Crouch has used her visit to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympic Games to discuss the employment prospects of females in the sport industry with fellow ministers of sport.

The Chatham and Aylesford MP took part in a Women in Sport session with ministers from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Ireland to share ideas on “what more can be done to improve the recruitment, retention and promotion of more female leaders in the sports sector”.

“Improving diversity in sport, so that it better reflects society, is an important issue to me and one that I am looking to make progress on,” said Crouch via her blog on the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) website.

Diversity on sport governing body boards is one of the cornerstones of the government’s Sporting Future strategy, with a target of making 25 per cent of those occupied in board positions female, as well as stimulating an increase among black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) members.

In the autumn, DCMS arms-length bodies Sport England and UK Sport will publish the UK Sport governance Code, which is expected to emphasis requirements for female and BAME representation on boards, as well as a focus on skills-based appointments.