There is no doubt that in recent decades women have been incorporated into different areas that until recently were reserved only for men. The world of sports is no exception, and women have also entered positions that have always been occupied by men. In sports, it is true that the role of women is increasingly important. In fact, in this post you can see 8 Spanish women who have conquered world sport .

Apart from sports, sports management must also be considered. More and more women are part of the management or those who manage a club. However, although it is progress, men still have priority over women in these types of positions.

The participation of women in positions of responsibility has become one of the objectives of international organizations, but also at the national level. There are numerous laws that have been created to promote gender equality, thus eliminating the barriers that prevent women from entering sport in any of its aspects.

However, in this study that we carried out in Esportter on the presence of women in sports management, we see that less than 5% of sports federations in Andalusia are chaired by women. Click the button below to see all the data.

How to promote the participation of women in sports management?

To break with this “glass ceiling” it is necessary to promote the participation of women in sports management through the same norms that institutions make on the equality of men and women.

It is essential to establish strategies that empower women to exercise leadership and generate interest in management jobs within the sports field such as:

• Carry out awareness programs and awareness of inequalities.
• Professional training with specialized courses in sports management that allow them to join it at the same level as men.
• Programs aimed at orienting, detecting and developing leadership in women.
• Include physical education models that are interesting for girls and that they can see in sports management a professional perspective.
• Establish feminine values ​​in sports management.
• Give greater visibility to those women who are dedicated to sports management and have positions of responsibility.
• General Laws of Equality and Conciliation of personal, family and work life.
• Professionalize the management of federations and institutions since it favors the participation of women.

However, in our country we already find several clubs that are managed by women or that occupy important positions within them. We can see two of them in the men’s first division: Eibar and Leganés.

First-class club management model: Eibar and Leganés case

Amaia Gorostiza is the president of one of the most efficient clubs in the League, the Sociedad Deportiva Eibar . The entity works with 5 commissions : sports; communication and institutions; economic, commercial and marketing; and operations. All of them meet every two weeks to keep track of their actions.

It is a management model based on teamwork, no one-man leadership. Only a group that works for and for the benefit of Eibar. As for the sporting field, they are characterized by close treatment of the player and his family, looking for the human side of the player apart from the sports side. This makes the player identify with the club so they work in a more dedicated way.

In the 6 years that Gorostiza has been president, revenues have been increasing dramatically . At the end of the first half of last season, its cash ended with about 43 million euros, an amount much higher than two years ago. This has allowed the gunsmith team to invest in the necessary infrastructure to improve the club, thus improving the attractiveness for future signings.

On the other hand we have the example of Leganés . Its president Victoria Pavón , was the one who saved him from disappearance back in 2008. However, her husband is the one who bought the cucumber set, but she is the one who governs and manages it, taking it to what it is today , an austere, family club where almost all of its workers have grown and evolved with it. With almost a million euros in losses for the team in Second B and almost in the abyss of Third, the Madrilenian took an absolute turn, turning the cucumber team into what it is today, a humble and hard-working club.

Both are the example of an entrepreneurial woman who makes her way into a world dominated mostly by men. They have been questioned and even branded as vase women, but nothing is further from the truth. They have been able to manage and lead both clubs, taking them out of extreme situations to success.

And you, what do you think is the current situation of women in sports management? Write a comment that serves to shed light on the matter.