This week Sport NZ finally released the long awaited results of the first of three diversity and inclusion surveys, the first carried out last year in the sport, play, and active recreation space. Sport NZ’s media release is here, Zoe George’s Stuff article is here, and the full report is here. In summary, the results prove what we know, that those who work in sport, particularly those in leadership roles, skew towards older, white, male.
I understand the survey is intended to establish a ‘baseline’ (which is fantastic and an excellent starting point) but there are some really concerning findings that I hope initiate action. Such as, the pay gap between female and male CEOs is nearly 50%! Yes, 50%! In numbers, the median income for male CEOs is $122,500, while the median income for female CEOs is $65,000! The overall gender pay gap for the sector is 15%, almost double the national gender pay gap of 9%. But I wonder if the pay gap might be even worse than this.
Of those who filled out the survey, there is a significant focus on leadership roles, with CEOs, managers, High Performance directors and coaches all well represented. However, general staff comes under the last line “other paid roles” with 466 people who responded to the survey coming under this heading, which is only 28% of all respondents. This is interesting when it comes to questions on the gender pay gap, and also experience in the organisation. For example, 84% of respondents said their organisation was committed to diversity and inclusion and 76% agree their organisation is committed to putting D&I into practice. But if two thirds of respondents are the leaders responsible for implementing D&I then those high numbers are not really a surprise.
Another example that clearly demonstrates this is the question on how much they trust their organisation to handle integrity issues appropriately and effectively. Overall, only 43% said they agreed. When split by role, this jumps to 59% of CEOs and only 30% of “other paid roles”, which again, is no surprise given it’s likely to be the CEO to handle an integrity issue and those in “other paid roles” would have to rely on those in leadership positions.
It would perhaps be useful for the next survey to try and get more responses from those in “other paid roles” to get a better understanding of their experiences in their organisation.
There’s a lot more here to unpack and I am particularly excited to compare these survey findings with my own research which is on a very similar aspect, focusing on those who work and volunteer in football at a regional and club committee level. I’ve already spotted some notable differences I’ll be exploring.
For a laugh, check out the video from Black Fern Kendra Cocksedge – All Black Aaron Smith shared a video on social media doing a series of trick shot/passes, which Kendra has copied and nailed, with the comment “anything boys can do, girls can do better”!
This week in 2017, NZ Rugby released their Respect and Responsibility Review report, examining their culture, gender equity and inclusion, and this week in 2018 Triathlon NZ were in the spotlight for their internal cultural issues.
A shout out to Ashley Stanley, who is signing off from Lockerroom as her two year scholarship comes to an end. Thank you for all your mahi Ashley for women and girls in sport!
Check out all the media headlines in women’s sport for the week of 1st October right here.
Alida Shanks 