Women Hold Board Seats in Canadian Sport, CEOs Drop

A new report on women in leadership roles within Canada's sport system reveals a complex picture of progress and setbacks. While women have achieved record representation on the unpaid boards of national sport organizations, their numbers in the top paid executive positions have sharply declined.

The 2025-26 Women in Sport Leadership Snapshot, released by Canadian Women and Sport, found women now hold 45 per cent of board seats and 48 per cent of board chair positions in national sport organizations. Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, the organization's chief executive officer, said this demonstrates the sports system is capable of change, attributing the gain to many individual organizations choosing to put in the effort.

However, the report shows a significant drop in women occupying the most senior paid roles. Women now comprise just 34 per cent of CEOs or executive directors across the national sport system, an eight percentage point decrease since 2023 and the lowest level recorded since data collection began in 2018. Sandmeyer-Graves described the decline as dramatic.

The connection between leadership diversity and broader participation is a central theme of the report. More...