Balance the Board Policy

Dr. Bridie O'Donnell, Head; Office for Women an Sport and Recreation (2017- 2021) along with a few SSAs share their insights on actions taken to meet the Balance the Board Policy.

In December 2015, the Minister for Sport released the final report of the independent Inquiry into Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation – A Five Year Game Plan for Victoria [1] – and committed to implement all nine of the Inquiry’s recommendations to enhance participation by women and girls and to increase their engagement in leadership and governance roles.

Recommendation 3 was to ‘Mandate gender balance and good governance principles’, with the Game Plan Inquiry making the following comments about implementation:

  • A minimum quota of 40% should be set for female representation on governing bodies.
  • A phase-in period of up to three years is reasonable for change.
  • There should be annual monitoring and reporting against this quota.

This recommendation was noted as a founding reform in Safe and Strong – a Victorian gender equality strategy, released by the Victorian Government in December 2016.



Further Information:

Vicsport
P 03 9698 8100
E admin@vicsport.com.au


 

[1] Visit changeourgame.vic.gov.au for further information

Victoria

Prior to 2017, board membership data for over 100 organisations funded under the Supporting Victorian Sport and Recreation Program indicated an overall average of 38% female representation on boards. The same data indicated that less than one-third of these organisations had female representation rates at 50% or more, while one-fifth of all organisations had 25% or less female representation, in some cases with no female board members at all.

Since Balance the Board was announced in 2017, the number of organisations with gender balanced boards has increased to consistently more than 90% since the policy came into effect (2019), across more than 100 funded organisations.

National

As at September 2024, 62% of funded national organisations reached the required standard of gender diversity in board directors and only 25% of national sporting organisations and national sporting organisations for people with disability were chaired by a woman.
 

This lead to the announcement (September 2024) of the National Gender Equity in Sport Governance Policy, addressing the underrepresentation of women in sports leadership.

The Policy requires organisations to reach the following Gender Equity Targets in the coming years:

  • 50% of all board directors are women and/or gender diverse
  • 50% of board chairs are women and/or gender diverse
  • 50% of specified board sub-committee members are women and/or gender diverse.

The Policy is a collaboration between the ASC, on behalf of the Australian Government, and the State and Territory Agencies for Sport and Recreation and will be rolled out nationally.

Each State jurisdiction will adopt its own mechanisms to reach the targets and timeframes, with Australian Government funding to be withheld from national organisations that do not comply.


 

Balance the Board requires all recognised Victorian sport and active recreation bodies to have a minimum of 40% women directors on its board to be eligible to apply for the Victorian Government’s Community Sport funding programs.

This includes State Sporting Associations, state sport and active recreation bodies, and National
Sporting Organisations without a recognised Victorian state body.

VicHealth have also applied the quota to SSAs, RSAs, national and elite sporting organisations since 1 July 2019, with any new funding agreements including a requirement that organisations achieve the 40% quota or risk losing their funding.

If an organisation falls below the minimum 40% requirement, the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation will work with them to agree an action plan to meet the minimum 40% benchmark once again.

Vicsport is also here to assist organisations by:

  • Facilitating the sharing of information, ideas and strategies across organisations
  • The provision of tailored advice and assistance that is specific to the needs of your organisation
 

The Balance the Board Policy aimed to bring about long term cultural change for Victorian sport in order to grow and strengthen sport and recreation organisations through good governance practices. How each organisation meets the quota may be different, as will the journey and processes undertaken.

Steps your organisation can take include:

  1. Table the quotas at your board meeting for thorough discussion and as an ongoing, standing agenda item
    1. What are the restrictions around board composition and the election process?
    2. Are there other clauses in your constitution that may impact the move towards quotas?
    3. Is there provision for appointed and independent directors? Are there restrictions around these positions?
  2. Consider timeframes relating to your next AGM
  3. Develop a working group (or utilise a sub-committee) to lead the work and report to the board
  4. Review your organisation’s constitution
  5. Review the recruitment methods your organisation currently uses
  6. Complete a Skills matrix of your current board members
  7. Analyse the terms of current directors

Further information on what to consider when addressing the quotas can be found in the following fact sheet: Transition to Mandatory Board Quotas: Starting the Journey


 

In addition to Vicsport’s significant collection of governance resources, the following resources have been developed specifically to assist sporting organisations meet the incoming quotas: