Brock University to Co-Host International Women and Sports Summit

Brock sport management experts will be participating in a Women and Sports Summit this week and the University community is invited to attend.

Hosted by Brock’s Centre for Sport Capacity in partnership with the Olympic Studies and Research Centre of the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas in Peru, the third Women and Sport Summit is set to take place online Friday, March 8 at 1 p.m. in recognition of International Women’s Day.

Assistant Professor of Sport Management Michele Donnelly, Associate Professor of Sport Management Kirsty Spence and Professor of Sport Management Julie Stevens will be conducting interviews with three women leaders in major sport events who will share their experiences in the sport industry:

• Carolyn Bannister, Workforce and Volunteer Manager, FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023
• Michele Formonte, Executive Director, Americas Paralympic Committee
• Annick Taverniers, Paralympic Games Director, International Paralympic Committee

These women have overcome challenges in their careers and will shed light on how their journeys and development have impacted sport management in their respective roles.

The summit aims to inspire more women to take up leadership positions in sport.

“There has been some progress in gender equity in leadership positions in sports but there is still a gap to fill,” says Raul Rosales, a Visiting Scholar in the Sport Management Department, who is helping to organize the event. “Based on a 2023 survey, only 27 per cent of executive positions in international federations are covered by women. Different reasons might be considered, but one is the lack of information about women role models in the sport management field.”

Rosales says Paris 2024 will be the first Olympic Games with gender equality based on the quotas per gender in every sport, but there is still work to be done in the industry on the management side of sport.

“These are great strides for participation in sports, but now the challenge is to keep this commitment to other fields of sports such as management and governance,” he says.

The Women and Sport Summit will be livestreamed in WH 147 for students, staff and faculty to watch together in person. Snacks will be provided.