Gender Equality In Governance Research Articles

The influence of gendered emotional relations on gender equality in sport governance

The aim of this article is to investigate the influence of gendered emotional relations on gender equality in the governance of Australian sport organizations. Theoretically the study draws on the concept of a gender regime, a pattern of gender relations characterized by four interwoven dimensions of social life: production, power, emotions, and symbolism. This article reports on two case studies: sport boards C and E. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the two CEOs and nine directors of two Australian national sport organizations, sport C and sport E. Sport board C exhibited a gender regime of masculine hegemony in transition while sport board E had a regime of gender mainstreaming in progress. Supportive emotional relations between directors offered positive prospects for gender equality in the governance of sport organizations; however, they needed to operate in conjunction with other gender dimensions.

The Impact of Gender Quotas on Gender Equality in Sport Governance

A common intervention to address women’s underrepresentation in governance has been the introduction of gender quotas. This study examined the impact of gender quotas on gender equality in governance among boards of National Sport Organizations (NSOs) in Australia. Central to the study was the theoretical concept of a gender regime. Part of a larger study, the research design comprised a comparative case study of five NSOs with data collected mainly through semistructured interviews with directors and CEOs. The findings suggest that a quota of a minimum of three women was a first condition to advance gender equality in governance. It needed to operate, however, in conjunction with other gender dynamics to move toward equal participation by men and women in board decision making. These included women in influential board positions, solidaristic emotional relations between men and women directors, and directors’ adoption of gender equality as an organizational value.

Analysing gender dynamics in sport governance: A new regimes-based approach

This paper explores gender dynamics in sport governance with reference to boards of National Sport Organisations (NSOs) in Australia. It is based on a recent study, underpinned by governance and gender theory. Central is the notion of a gender regime, which is characterised by four interwoven dimensions: production, power, emotional and symbolic relations. When applied to governance dynamics in sport boards, this concept permits identification of how gender works. The study involved an audit of 56 NSOs and in-depth interviews with board directors and chief executive officers (n=26; 9 women and 17 men) from five NSOs. This paper reports on the results of three NSOs. The data suggest that directors’ participation in sport governance was not uniform in terms of gender dynamics. Three gender regimes were identified: masculine hegemony, masculine hegemony in transition and gender mainstreaming in process. Only the latter provided significant opportunities for gender equality in governance while the former two imposed significant constraints. Central to the regime associated with gender equal governance was a combination of presence of women on the board, the occupation of influential board roles by women, active support of women directors by influential men on the board and a commitment to equality in governance as equal participation by both men and women.