Chapter 2: Leadership Development Programs for Women as a Means to Achieve Gender Equality: What Do Women Think?

The aim of this chapter is to explore women’s leadership development programs as a means to tackle gender inequality in leadership positions in the context of sports. Building on a case study approach, the current body of knowledge, and 22 interviews with women with experience of such programs, this chapter describes and analyses how participants perceive leadership development programs as a means to a) support their leadership careers and b) enhance gender equality in leadership positions. The chapter shows that many women find women’s leadership development programs meaningful for career advancement and developing their leadership skills. However, the programs may not be entirely beneficial for women to attain concrete career advancement. Furthermore, the study discusses networks and the reasons behind the rather tight network created in the case program. The study also shows that the program tackles mainly individual-level barriers to advancing gender equality, and its potential for fundamental changes thus remains limited.