Canadian Sport Sees Record Women on Boards, But CEO Roles Plummet

TORONTO, ON – May 26, 2026 – A landmark study has revealed a stark and troubling paradox at the heart of Canadian sport: while women are achieving unprecedented levels of representation in governance roles, their presence in the highest paid executive positions has suffered a dramatic decline.

According to the latest ‘Women in Sport Leadership Snapshot’ from Canadian Women & Sport, women now hold a record 45% of all board seats and 48% of board chair positions across the national sport system. These figures represent a high-water mark in a nearly decade-long push for gender equity. However, this progress at the board level has not translated to the C-suite. The report shows a sharp drop in the number of women serving as CEOs or Executive Directors, falling from a peak of 47% in 2022 to just 34% today—the lowest level recorded since 2018.

This disconnect highlights a critical challenge, suggesting that while women are increasingly invited to the table for governance and oversight, they face significant barriers to securing the top operational leadership roles responsible for strategy, budgets, and day-to-day management.

“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 the press release accompanying the report. “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.”

A Decade of Progress, A Fragile Peak

The current data arrives after years of concerted effort and investment in gender equity. The Government of Canada, which funded the study, set a target in 2018 to achieve gender equity in sport by 2035, backing it with millions in funding. This support contributed to tangible gains, particularly at the board level, where representation for women has climbed steadily. Over the past five years alone, the percentage of women on national sport boards increased by nine points.

However, the sharp reversal in executive appointments serves as a sobering reminder of the fragility of this progress. The 13-point drop from the 2022 high has effectively erased years of gains in this specific area. The report, which combines national survey data with insights from women leaders, suggests that the pipeline for executive talent may be leaking. At the provincial and territorial level—often a training ground for national leaders—women hold a more robust 46% of CEO or Executive Director roles, indicating that the bottleneck is most pronounced at the highest national tier.

The Governance-Executive Divide

The findings point to a persistent ‘glass ceiling’ that appears to be firmly in place above the boardroom but below the CEO’s office. While board positions are vital for oversight, they are often voluntary and advisory. Executive roles, in contrast, hold direct operational power and financial control. The disparity suggests that systemic barriers are preventing qualified women from making the final leap into these paid leadership positions.

Research has shown that while many organizations have broad Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) policies, these often lack teeth. The Canadian Women & Sport study found that while six in ten national sport organizations have an EDI policy, only one in ten has a standalone gender equity policy, and fewer than 10% effectively link these policies to their strategic plans. This gap between policy and practice can perpetuate hiring processes influenced by unconscious bias and traditional, often masculine, archetypes of leadership.

Academic studies on sport management have reinforced this perception. One Canadian study found that while both male and female students aspired to senior leadership, only the female students perceived the existence of a glass ceiling, suggesting they are acutely aware of barriers that their male counterparts may not even see.

Beyond the Numbers: Intersectional Barriers

The report also emphasizes that a focus on overall numbers can mask deeper inequities. For Indigenous women, racialized women, and women with disabilities, the barriers are compounded. The study notes a significant underrepresentation of these groups, stating that to accurately reflect Canada’s population, sport boards would need 2.4 times more racialized women, 2.0 times more Indigenous women, and 6.4 times more women with disabilities.

These statistics are reflected in the lived experiences of leaders. One woman serving on a provincial sport board was quoted in the report, stating, “I'm always the only Black woman.” This highlights the isolating reality for many and underscores the need for a more intersectional approach to equity that goes beyond a simple gender binary.

A Global Challenge

Canada’s struggle is not unique. International benchmarks show that while progress on board representation is a global trend, the gap at the executive level is a widespread challenge. In Australia, women held just 22% of CEO positions in funded National Sporting Organisations in 2023. In the United Kingdom, a 2024 survey found men occupied over 70% of Chair and CEO roles.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has achieved full gender parity for athletes at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a monumental achievement. Yet, in a stark parallel to the corporate leadership issue, only an estimated 13% of accredited coaches will be women. This demonstrates that even where participation is equal, leadership and support roles remain overwhelmingly dominated by men.

Ultimately, the Canadian Women & Sport study serves as a critical call to action. It celebrates the hard-won victories in board representation while exposing the urgent need to dismantle the more entrenched barriers preventing women from attaining executive power. The findings suggest that without intentional, systemic changes to hiring practices, organizational culture, and succession planning, the goal of true equity in sport leadership will remain just out of reach.