Sports bodies could face penalties over ‘snail’s pace’ of dealing with gender balance

Sporting bodies that move at a “snail’s pace” to reach the target of 40 per cent female representation on their boards could face financial penalties, the Minister of State for Sport has warned.

Jack Chambers said there will be consequences for sporting organisations which do not make efforts to have more female representation on the boards.

The target of 40 per cent female representation for funded national sporting bodies has been set for the end of next year in a bid to progress better gender balance.

Currently, 39 national governing bodies (NGBs) have 30 per cent or more female representation at board level, with a number of NGBs already reporting a 40/60 gender split on their board, according to Sport Ireland.

NGB Funding Priorities for 2023:Further to Sport Ireland’s established investment criteria, diversity & inclusion along with improved governance & greater gender balance have been identified as key priorities for 2023.Read More: https://t.co/nLZGIpxjPV pic.twitter.com/0EuJqV2n6L

— Sport Ireland (@sportireland) August 9, 2022

Speaking on Tuesday, as Sport Ireland announced 15 million euro in funding for NGBs, Mr Chambers said there should be proper female representation.

He said it would better reflect the grassroots of sports and grow membership and sports into communities.

He added: “We can’t have a blank cheque when it comes to governance, there has to be a bottom line, particularly where you’ve increased funding.

“The vast majority (of NGBs) have met that threshold already.

“When there’s an increase in funding, we can’t have organisations continuing to ignore that bottom line.

“That’s why I’m giving a clear signal around what we expect in the coming 18 months.”

“Others, though, are moving at a snail’s pace