‘Work remains to be done’: Canada sees drop in number of women in sport leadership roles

A woman uses a laptop computer in this file photo. (picjumbo.com / Pexels)

A new report suggests women are making progress in securing and sustaining leadership roles in Canadian sport, except when it comes to the top spots.

The report from Canadian Women & Sport, a national non-profit, combines data from a national survey of sport organizations, research conducted in partnership with Brock University, and insights from women leaders across the country.

It found women hold 45 per cent of board seats and 48 per cent of board chair positions. However, when it comes to CEO and executive director roles that number drops to 34 per cent, down from a high of 47 per cent in 2022.

“This puts sport ahead of corporate Canada, where only 31% of board seats are held by women according to a 2025 report by Osler,” reads the national survey report.

“Leadership shapes culture, funding, and decision‑making. Understanding who holds power – and where barriers persist – is essential to building a stronger, more inclusive sport system.”

The numbers show less progress at the provincial and territorial level – only 39 per cent have boards with 40 to 60 per cent women, compared to 71 per cent nationally.

“Leadership in sport isn’t just about representation – it determines whose voices are heard, whose priorities are funded, and how the system evolves,” said Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, CEO of Canadian Women & Sport, in a news release from the organization.

“We’ve seen real progress over the past decade, particularly at the board and senior staff level. But declining rates of women as paid executives shows that progress is not guaranteed and that work remains to be done to translate leadership representation into true inclusion, benefiting organizations and those they serve.”

Nova Scotia numbers

The province of Nova Scotia is outpacing national numbers. Women make up 45 per cent of board seats, 47 per cent of board chairs, 50 per cent of CEOs and executive directors, and 61 per cent of senior staff teams.

The provincial government has a multi-year partnership with Canadian Women & Sport to support “research, learning, and organizational capacity-building across the sport system.”

“Leadership pathways flow through the provincial and territorial level. When representation lags here, it limits who gets into the leadership pipeline—and who reaches the national stage,” reads the provincial report.

Equity for all women

The report shows the province still has work to do when it comes to equity for all women.

“To mirror Nova Scotia’s population, sport organization boards would need 5.9x more racialized women, 6.6x more Indigenous women, and 12.9x more women with disabilities,” reads the report.

“Across the Nova Scotian and Canadian sport system, women who are Indigenous, racialized, and/or living with disabilities are vastly under-represented on boards of directors and in senior staff roles – and men from these groups experience similar gaps.”

According to the report, it is harder for women from equity-denied groups to enter those leadership roles because the system wasn’t built with them in mind. It adds those women are more likely to serve in unpaid board roles than in staff positions.

“When their voices are missing from governance and leadership, we lose perspectives essential to creating safe, inclusive sport spaces. Addressing the systemic barriers these women face is key to unlocking the full potential their perspectives would bring to the system,” reads the provincial report.

Gender-diverse representation

Nova Scotia is also ahead of the country when it comes to the inclusion of gender-diverse people.

According to the most recent Canadian census, gender-diverse people make up about 0.5 per cent of Nova Scotia’s population and 0.4 per cent of the national population.

Across the country at the provincial/territorial level, four board members identify as gender diverse, two of which are in Nova Scotia, and two board chairs, one in Nova Scotia. There are also two senior staff members and two CEOs who identify as gender diverse, but none in Nova Scotia.

“Across jurisdictions, these patterns suggest that gender-diverse individuals are more often included in governance than employed in senior leadership roles, raising questions about access and advancement in paid positions,” reads the provincial report.

Call for action

While the report shows women are gaining seats at the table, there is still work to be done.

“The gaps at the CEO level – and the deeper inequities affecting equity-denied and gender-diverse leaders – signal that leadership pathways remain uneven and fragile. Without coordinated action to strengthen equity across all levels of leadership, progress risks stalling or sliding backwards,” reads the report.

Canadian Women & Sport is calling for coordinated action across the sport system, including:

• stronger accountability measures
• improved working conditions
• expanded leadership pathways
• better data to track progress over time

“Organizations like Canadian Women & Sport are advancing a more inclusive and equitable sport system in Canada,” said Adam van Koeverden, the Secretary of State for Sport in Canada, in the news release.

“Their work highlights both how far we’ve come and the opportunities that remain in achieving gender-balanced representation across all levels of sport leadership. Sport is a powerful nation builder. It can only truly unite us when everyone sees a place for themselves.”

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page