Gender equity is now firmly on the sporting agenda following the formation of the Elite Sport Male Champions of Change (ESMCC) which was officially launched last week.
Richmond Football Club pushed for the establishment of the group as part of its Gender Equity Research Project which it is undertaking in conjunction with the Australian Sports Commission and the AFL.
The group, comprising 13 CEO’s from across Australia, representing seven major sports, and the Australian Sports Commission, will be chaired by Sex Discrimination Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission Elizabeth Broderick.
The charter of the group is to actively advance gender equity across elite sport, with a particular focus on leadership, talent development, public advocacy and accountability.
“The Male Champions of Change model asks men to step up alongside women to drive meaningful change. This strategy recognises that most organisational power sits with men and they must be integral to delivering change in their organisation and advocating for it more broadly,” Ms Broderick said.
"The accessibility of sport to the broader community is what makes this initiative so exciting - it has the capacity to create change on so many levels and I look forward to working with this committed group of CEO’s.”
Richmond CEO Brendon Gale reiterated the Tigers’ commitment to leading change in such an important area.
“There are unacceptably low levels of women in leadership at elite level sport and we want to use our collective influence to drive some meaningful change,” Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said.
“We want to understand what is getting in the way, how we remove those barriers and then implement high-impact actions that will make the difference.”
“It is fantastic that so many CEO’s have committed to this group and I have no doubt the actions and shared learnings will create important outcomes for elite sport and ultimately sport at all levels.”
Craig Tiley, Tennis Australia CEO and a member of the elite sport group makes the point that "Significant and meaningful change on this issue is long overdue. Sport is uniquely placed in our community and has the power to have an impact so deep and wide-ranging that gender equity can cease to even be a problem for future generations."
Elite Sport Male Champions of Change
Elizabeth Broderick – Sex Discrimination Commissioner (Chair 2015)
Simon Hollingsworth – CEO, Australian Sports Commission
Brendon Gale - CEO, Richmond Football Club
Matt Finnis - CEO, St Kilda Football Club
David Matthews - CEO, Greater Western Sydney Football Club
Gary Pert - CEO, Collingwood Football Club
John Lee – CEO, South Sydney Rabbitohs
Paul White – CEO, Brisbane Broncos
Ian Robson – CEO, Melbourne Victory
Craig Tiley - CEO, Tennis Australia
Mark Anderson - CEO, Swimming Australia
Anthony Moore - CEO, Basketball Australia
Clint Cooper - CEO, Melbourne Stars (Big Bash)
Dominic Remond - CEO, Sydney Sixers (Big Bash)
