Introduction

As we were editing this text, a high-profile example emerged of why a text on gender and sport leadership and governance is needed. Yoshiro Mori, the head of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Committee, resigned in February 2021 after making derogatory comments about women in meetings. He had complained during a Japanese Olympic Committee meeting that talkative woman make meetings ‘drag on too long’ (McCurry, 2021). He went on to say that if one woman speaks, they then all feel the need to speak, suggesting this as a reason for limiting the number of women in meetings. Whilst this example is located within the culturally specific context of Japan, which has a long history of leadership positions being dominated by men across its society, it is also situated within the internationally focused Olympic Movement and reflects similar examples of discrimination towards women sport leaders that have been reported by researchers across the world, including within the United Kingdom (UK). This high-profile case simultaneously highlights a changing sport governance landscape as well as the ongoing issues that impact upon women working in the leadership and governance of the sector. On the one hand, the global media attention that resulted from Mori’s comments, and his subsequent resignation, demonstrates how these comments are now publicly and globally viewed by many as being unacceptable. On the other hand, the fact that the comments were made in the first place demonstrates the everyday sexism that women continue to face within sport governance. Mori resigned because his comments were made public, but this draws our attention to the fact that there is ongoing resistance to women’s involvement in sport governance. There are, then, many reasons why a book like this is needed: to challenge the perception that equity has been achieved, to reflect on progress and change over a long-term process and to highlight the ongoing experiences of women in the sport sector. When we discussed what a text on Gender Equity and UK Sport Leadership and Governance should include, we wanted to bring together a text that would engage people in thinking about gender equity and make visible the everyday experiences of women working in the sector. To do this, we wanted to synthesise theoretical and evidence-based chapters that identify some of the ongoing inequalities in the sector.