The Victorian Minister for Community Sport, Ros Spence, last week spoke of her determination to raise the number of women employed in, and leading, sports from positions of authority.
Announcing the 70 recipients of the 2023-24 Change Our Game Professional Development Scholarships, Spence said: “We are driving gender equality in sport, and to achieve this, we need more women in leadership roles. This program supports women in their pathway to leadership, no matter what career stage they are in.”
Carol Cooke AM PLY, a triple Paralympian and nine-time world champion cyclist, is an ambassador for the Change Our Game initiative which offers support to women across the spectrum of sports administration, from those starting their careers to aspiring chief executives.
The grants provide recipients with professional development, sports governance education and access to mentors and career coaches to help develop career pathway and skills.
As a distinguished and long-time Victorian Institute of Sport athlete Cooke understands the ambition. She has seen it brought to life at the VIS where, for example, the board is chaired by Nataly Matijevic, Anne Marie Harrison has been chief executive for 17 years and 69 of the 120 permanent employees are female.
The VIS director of Performance Health Services and two of the four General Managers of High Performance, among the most senior positions in the state’s peak high-performance centre, are female.
The breakdown is not a contrivance. Professional excellence is a pre-requisite in the competitive world of high-performance sport and many of the best sports professionals in the country aspire to work at the VIS.
Nonetheless, the presence of so many highly regarded female VIS leaders and senior staff achieves more than outstanding results.
According to Cooke, a former swimmer who turned to Para cycling after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the VIS environment is unmistakably performance driven but makes real for women a career in sport and serves a broader purpose.
“It is so important to have women, able bodied or disabled, in roles of leadership because gender equality is a fundamental human right,” Cooke says.
“Having women in leadership roles in sports is a crucial step towards achieving equity and gender equality, not just in the sports world but in society as a whole. It sends a powerful message that women are just as capable as men in leadership and decision-making positions.
“Having women in sports leadership roles ensures that the diverse perspectives, experiences, and voices of women are considered, promoting inclusivity and making decisions that cater to a wider range of needs and interests.
“I am very proud to be part of the VIS family where we definitely show that female leadership is working extremely well!”
