ANNUAL SURVEY 2018/19 DIVERSITY IN SPORT GOVERNANCE DIVERSITY IN SPORT GOVERNANCE REPORT PAGE 02

CONTENTS

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M E T H O D O L O G Y 0 6 S P O R T B O A R D S A N A L Y S I S

0 9 S P O T L I G H T : D I V E R S I T Y O N S P O R T B O A R D S

1 0 C O N C L U S I O N

1 1 B I B L I O G R A P H Y PAGE 03 DIVERSITY IN SPORT GOVERNANCE REPORT

FOREWORD

The findings of this report lay bare one of the most My determination to address sport’s diversity In the two years since the publication of A Code These figures are not where we want them to be. important challenges we face in the sport sector; problem is absolute. The Code for Sports for Sports Governance many publicly funded sport Diversity of thought and experience at board level that of diversifying our sports boards. The data in Governance is one of the tools that we can use organisations have made significant improvements is essential for the effective running of any thiWs reporHt doesO not lieW and wEe we lcAome iRts E and has already started to make a difference but in Whow theHy areO gove rnWed. WoEmen nAow hRold 4E0% organisation. To help drive the necessary change publication whilst recognising the role we must all we will continue to review its effectiveness. It is a of board positions across UK Sport and Sport we continue to work closely with a range of play to change it. living, breathing document. If change doesn’t England funded organisations and almost three partners and I would urge the national governing happen at the speed or scale needed, we’ll quarters of boards have achieved the required bodies and funded organisations to develop their Why should this matter? It matters because more consider rolling out specific equality targets that 30% gender balance. Most of the remaining own partnerships with key equality organisations diverse boards make better decisions. Reports by are embedded in the way we fund partners in boards are close to hitting their 30% target. to help put in place systems to allow them to McKinsey (2015), Harvard Business School (2016) much the same way that we have for gender recruit quality board members from all quarters of and Credit Suisse (2017) show that companies in Having said that, we shouldn’t get carried away. diversity. We also need to consider what other society. the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity are There is still plenty of work to do. This is no more measures can be used to improve the situation 35% more likely to have financial returns above true than in the areas of disability and Black, such as our work in developing a list of board Away from specific measures of diversity, we must their industry mean. Companies in the top quartile Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) representation. ready candidates from diverse backgrounds. all continue to embed good governance practices for gender diversity are 15% more profitable and Just 5% of Olympic and Paralympic national at the heart of our operations. Governance cannot those that that have at least one woman on board There is no shortage of goodwill. Every time I governing body board positions are filled by simply be a tick box exercise, it needs to be part yield higher returns on equity and higher net meet leaders from across the sector, awareness of people from minority ethnic backgrounds. And only of the culture and fabric of every sporting income growth than those who do not have any the Code is high. But equality is only achieved 5% of board members declared themselves as organisation and our decision making. female board members. Working with people who when people in Boards and beyond understand, having a disability, compared to around 22% in the My colleagues and I remain hugely committed to are different provides more challenge for decision embrace and champion diversity. wider UK population. making, broadens opinions, improves performance continuing to make this happen across the Olympic and Paralympic system. and helps create empathy with a greater diversity Sport has the ability to engage everyone, of customers. whatever their background, ability, ethnicity and age, whether as participants, volunteers, coaches and officials. The time has now come for it to rise to the challenge of diversifying its sports boards and we look forward to working with our partners to ensure this happens.

NICK BITEL DAME KATHERINE GRAINGER CHAIR, CHAIR, UK SPORT

PAGE 04 DIVERSITY IN SPORT GOVERNANCE REPORT KEY FINDINGS

40% 5% BAME board members identified across

40% Women now make up an average 40% of Sport England and UK Sport-funded board members across Sport England and UK bodies. Inclusive Boards’ findings also Sport-funded bodies. Almost three quarters of show that the sport sector is falling behind sports boards have already achieved the

60% FTSE 100 firms (8% BAME board required gender benchmark of 30%. membership), third sector (6% BAME board membership) and UK population (13% 5% BAME).

5% 3% of board members identified as being openly Only 5% (29) of board members declared or LGBT+. This is slightly above the national consider themselves to have a disability, compared average for the UK population; 2% of UK to around 22% in the wider UK population; 96% of residents identify as LGBT+, although this rises board members reported having no disability. 3% to 4% among 16 to 24 year olds.

People on sports boards are more likely than the wider population to have attended private schools and prestigious universities. Olympic and Paralympic sports boards also have a higher than average proportion of Oxbridge board members. PAGE 05 DIVERSITY IN SPORT GOVERNANCE REPORT

METHODOLOGY

This report presents the data on National BOARD DIVERSITY ANALYSIS Governing Bodies (NGBs), Active Inclusive Boards conducted a board Partnerships and funded bodies, correct as diversity analysis of 63 NGBs, 44 Active of November 2018. It therefore may not Partnerships and 33 other UK Sport and reflect recent changes in board governance Sport England-funded bodies. We structures and recent board appointments. corroborated the findings from the survey Sports organisations whose board using information compiled from multiple information is not disclosed have not been sources, including official websites, annual included within this report. reports and financial statements, professional profiles and biographies and LITERATURE REVIEW digital profiling tools. Inclusive Boards Inclusive Boards conducted an extensive profiled 649 board members. Our analysis review of available literature relating to included gender, ethnicity, age and diversity and inclusion in sport governance, secondary and higher education employment and wider sporting characteristics. participation. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS

SURVEY The sporting ecosystem is currently Inclusive Boards distributed a board diversity fragmented. Estimates on the size and monitoring survey to all sport NGBs and scope of the sector may not capture the Active Partnerships. We received 66 true economic value of the sporting responses from senior leaders at the industry. This would better support the organisations we contacted covering 649 business case for diversity in sport. Board members. Respondents answered all A limited amount of data is available questions in the survey. concerning sexual orientation and other characteristics such as gender reassignment. We have, however, provided the fullest possible dataset, based on a representative sample. DIVERSITY IN SPORT GOVERNANCE REPORT PAGE 06 SPORT BOARD ANALYSIS - KEY FINDINGS

BOARD COMPOSITION Four Active Partnerships have yet to Inclusive Boards conducted a board diversity achieve the required target of 30%, whilst analysis of funded sports organisations using The average board size of 34% Active Partnerships have achieved information compiled from official websites, organisations reviewed was between 9 gender parity or above. A number of funded corporate reports and professional profile and and 10. bodies and Active Partnerships have an digital profiling tools. Inclusive Boards also One-third (33%) of board members over-representation of women on their distributed a diversity board monitoring survey reviewed were elected, whilst two- boards. It is important for organisations to to senior leaders within NGBs, Active thirds (67%) were independent non- ensure that 30% of each gender are Partnerships, and other funded bodies. executive directors (INED). reflected. GENDER DIVERSITY

Distribution of Survey Responses % Our internal board analysis identified 40% A Comparison of Female female board members across all Sport Representation on Boards

Yorkshire & the Humber England and UK Sport-funded bodies. In 50% East Midlands N.B. No sport board members identified 11% 12% terms of gender equality the sports sector is with any other gender classifications. falling behind the 500-largest charities in East of England 40% West Midlands 6% the third sector, which achieved a 43% 12% female membership on governance boards 30% in 2018. However female sport board membership was higher than FTSE 100 South West 20% Greater 6% firms, which achieved close to a 29% female 18% presence across board positions in 2018. 10%

South East Almost three quarters (75%) of 0% 16% North East Sports Boards FTSE Boards Charity Boards 6% organisations reviewed have achieved the Figure 7 Comparison of female representation on Boards North West 13% Code for Sports Governance requirement of a minimum of 30% from both genders on their boards. Active Partnership boards have achieved a gender target of 41%. Figure 6 Distribution of survey responses by region DIVERSITY IN SPORT GOVERNANCE REPORT PAGE 07

ETHNICITY Female board members are slightly BOARD ETHNICITY Our board analysis of Sport England and younger on average compared to male board members, with an average age of UK Sport-funded bodies identified 5% OTHER BLACK BAME board membership. Two-thirds 1% 51 and 56 respectively. Board members 3% (64%) had no BAME board members, from minority ethnic backgrounds were moreover the proportion of BAME board younger still, with an average age of 48, members was slightly lower among Active compared to an average age of 54 for Partnerships (4%). Our findings show an their white counterparts. ASIAN improvement in minority ethnic presence 3% The data shows that those in sports board on sports boards since 2016: The positions are comparatively younger Sporting Equals Leader Board survey compared to other sectors. The average identified that just 4% of board members age of FTSE 100 non-executive directors were from BAME backgrounds. However, stands at 60.3 years old. In the charity the current rate of progress is slow; sports sector, the average age of trustees is 57; boards have yet to achieve ethnic parity however, two-thirds of charity trustees are with the UK minority ethnic population, aged 59 or over. which at the time of the 2011 Census WHITE stood at 13%. This clear stagnation 93% SEXUALITY should be viewed seriously when Figure 8: Board ethnicity in percentages From our survey results, we found 3% of compared with BAME participation within board members identified as being openly many elite sports and demographic LGBT+. This is slightly higher than the changes. AGE wider population. The Office for National The largest proportion (37%) of board Statistics estimates that around 2% of UK The sport sector is falling behind other members are aged between 50 and 59, residents are openly LGBT+, although this sectors in terms of minority ethnic board whilst 35% are aged between 36 and 49 rises to 4% among 16 to 24 year olds. members. In the charity sector, 6% of years. One in five (20%) of board Evidence suggests that certain segments charity governance board members are members are aged 60 and over. Just 2.0% of LGBT people may chose not to disclose from BAME backgrounds, compared to 8% of board members are aged between 18 this information, whilst others may across FTSE 100 boards. and 29. misreport their sexual orientation. As a The average age of sports board result, estimates may underestimate or members is age 54. NGB boards are overestimate the true scale of LGBT+ slightly older, with an average age of 55 communities. compared to 53 in Active Partnerships. The oldest board member identified was aged 80+, whilst the youngest was aged under 25. DIVERSITY IN SPORT GOVERNANCE REPORT PAGE 08

DISABILITY EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND Around one in ten (11%) board members attended Oxbridge (Oxford or Cambridge) Only 5% of board members we surveyed Sports board members were far less likely universities, compared to less than 1% of had a disability or consider themselves to to have attended comprehensive schools the wider population. This is comparable have a disability. This compared to and more likely to have been educated to around 6% of Police Chief Constables around 22% in the wider UK population.A privately. Just under half (43%) of board and 9% of Local Authority Chief similar study conducted in 2016 identified members we reviewed attended Executives who were Oxbridge educated, just 3% of sports board members who comprehensive schools, compared to 88% but lower than the 31% of FTSE 100 were disabled. Whilst this suggests a of the wider population. One-third (33%) CEOs.Our findings show that one-third slight improvement in the proportion of attended grammar schools and around a (33%) of sport board members attended people with disabilities on boards, there is quarter (24%) were educated privately, more prestigious Russell Group still work to do to ensure that sports compared to just 7% of the wider universities. organisations build on the success of the population who attended fee-paying Paralympic legacy and beyond. schools.In other sectors, an estimated 22% of FTSE 350 CEOs, 22% of Chief Constables and 20% of University Vice Chancellors were educated privately. DIVERSITY IN SPORT GOVERNANCE REPORT PAGE 09 SPOTLIGHT:DIVERSITY ON SPORT BOARDS YASHMIN HARUN NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BRITISH FENCING

How did you get your first However when I looked across the How did you prepare for the Is your skill been fully utilised sports boards and saw that we were not position on a sport board? interview? on the board? that represented, I have a lot of ideas I looked into who was on the board, which My first board position was with Muslim There is still a lot for me to learn and it and opinions and felt the best way to direction they were going, what Women's Sports Foundation. Having has been a big learning curve. I still need make a change was to get on a board fundamental change they needed to make volunteered with them from 2008-14 and to understand more about the sport, how and make a change from there rather in order to make the sports more then establishing Muslimah Sports it works, the competition levels, and entry than voicing my opinions from the inclusive. British Fencing (BF) for many is Association (MSA), I was invited to apply levels. In terms of being listened to, the sidelines. seen as a sport for the elites. I have for the board position by the Chair at the board values my opinion and I really worked with BF before, this was with MSA time. Following this position, the FA What was their recruitment appreciate that. The board is very friendly where I created a tailored Level 1 British sponsored me for the 'On the Board' process like? but as an individual it is important to know Fencing coaching course for BAME program with them. This gave me much MWSF was very straight forward as I was when to engage and get a feel for the females, as I found it really difficult to find needed insight and the governance and approached by the Chair to apply. I culture of the room. a female coach for our sessions. We compliance skills required. After the made an application, attended an worked with BF to train nine ethnic Are there any Innovative D&I course, it gave me the confidence to start interview and was successful. For British minority women to become a L1 coaches. applying for other sport board positions. I Fencing, the process was equally initiatives at British Fencing? That was something I thought could be applied for two positions, one was the straightforward. I submitted a CV and We have a diversity policy for the board improved from an inclusive aspect and British Fencing position as Non-Executive cover letter. The Chair met me before and in a similar way to ensuring we have reaching out to communities that may Director, which I was successful. hand to make sure I was a good fit for the gender parity on the board, we have want to try the sport but do not have the What got you interested in board and organisation. He also wanted to added that there should be ethnicity parity opportunity to do so. I spoke a lot about understand what I could bring to the board also. We are also trying to engage with sport boards? that during the interview. I also reviewed and what new challenges I could offer. more local communities and showing BF I run Muslimah Sports Association their website and how it is driven towards After our initial conversation, the Chair as a social sport by training local youth (MSA), a grassroots sports association competition and not the social aspect of put forward my application to the rest of workers. We have partnered with Muslim to get ethnic minority women into the fencing. These were taken on board. the board . I was interviewed by a panel of Girls Fence which started in Doncaster, it sports. I didn’t realise at the time how Are you looking to get on other five people which included existing board is now in Tower Hamlets, London. This many barriers there were for ethnic members and the CEO. The week prior, I boards? was a successful project where we ran minority women and the lack had applied for another board position I am trying to get on the board of the FA. I two hour programme each week for 10 of representation we had at leadership which had a similar application process applied and stood for it but was weeks. We wanted to showcase the social levels. I started MSA out of interest and and I didn’t get that one unfortunately. unfortunately not elected. I am hoping I aspect of fencing and to engage with local a passion for sports to bring together However, that role helped me to self- will be able to make it on the board the communities so they can try it out. like-minded women similar to me. evaluate before attending the British next time I apply. Fencing interview. DIVERSITY IN SPORT GOVERNANCE REPORT PAGE 10

C O N CLUSION We acknowledge that whilst progress is The analysis of educational backgrounds There is a clear case for increasing being made to tackle diversity and shows that sports boards are more likely diversity in sport, across governance, inclusion challenges in the sector, future than the wider population to have participation and competition levels. There population changes, including an older attended private schools and prestigious have been ambitious strategies put in and more ethnically diverse population, universities, a fact more pronounced place to increase participation in sport, will increase the imperative to increase within the elite sports organisations. including at board level. Women now diversity across all levels of sport. People from low socioeconomic average around 40% of board members Currently many NGBs, Active backgrounds are also underrepresented in across Sport England and UK Sport-funded Partnerships and funded bodies are failing sport participation and physical activity. bodies. Almost three quarters of Sport to reflect the makeup of their communities There is a growing need to ensure that England and UK Sport funded bodies have across the different diversity strands. people from ‘working class’ backgrounds already achieved the required minimum There is a growing need to ensure that have a voice on sports boards at national 30% of both genders on boards. Clearly people from different socio-economic and local levels, but also to increase further work is needed in this area, backgrounds have a voice on sports opportunities for people from deprived however, many of the remaining boards at all levels to provide diverse and backgrounds to participate. organisations are close to meeting the relevant input into decision making required benchmark. Notable inequalities exist in participation rates between men and women, those Slower progress is being made in terms of with and without limiting disabilities and board members from BAME backgrounds, those of different socio-economic with an average of 5% across all Sport backgrounds. The categorisation of all England and UK Sport-funded bodies. those who are not ‘white British’ also This is lower when compared to the hides wide heterogeneity in sports private and third sectors. Board members participation between ethnic groups, with from ethnic minority backgrounds were black and Asian communities tending to more concentrated within some be less likely to engage in sport than all organisations, particularly those with other groups. With these historical larger boards. In contrast, Active inequalities, it is especially important that Partnerships have a lower proportion of boards of funded partner organisations BAME board members compared to the can represent and understand the needs average for all funded bodies. This of underrepresented groups in order to suggests that at a regional level more achieve the government’s goal of having work is needed to draw on regional talent ‘more people from every background from the local areas, particularly in areas regularly and meaningfully taking part in where BAME populations are higher than sport.’ the national average. DIVERSITY IN SPORT GOVERNANCE REPORT PAGE 11 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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UK Sport provides strategic investment to enable Great Britain’s elite Olympic and Paralympic Sports and athletes to reach their full medal winning in Olympic & Paralympic Games.

Inclusive Boards (IB) is a boutique executive search firm based in London and the Midlands set-up in 2017. We were set up to support organisations and sectors in their efforts to develop more diverse boards, senior leadership teams and stronger governance structures. Our services include Executive Search, Advisory, and Conferences. We also deliver Executive Training and have a flagship tech campaign - The Inclusive Tech Alliance. Designed and Produced by ANNUAL SURVEY 2018/19 Inclusive Board Ltd DIVERSITY IN SPORT GOVERNANCE