Diversity discussion - What does a middle class, white male in his early 30s know about Women in business and sport?

Participating in any sport is commonly an essential part of childhood. For many people, this is their first experience winning, losing, and learning hard truths. Everyone agrees that the physical and social benefits of playing sport are evident.

However, participating in sport can have a much greater impact. 

Research from EY has found that 94% of females in C-suite roles have participated in sport, and over half competed at university level, indicating a strong correlation between their success in sports and their success in business. Many businesses, particularly in the real estate space, have made enormous strides in narrowing the gender gap in the board room.

Could encouraging females to keep up their sporting activities for longer be a key to building effective and diverse businesses?

The importance of sports in business is even greater when you consider that the same research found that 74% of C-suite women surveyed said that if a candidate had a background in sports, this would positively impact their hiring decision. Arguably, these women place a premium on female athletes because they know from personal experience how participating in sports can impact work ethic.

What qualities do females with sporting experience typically have which makes them successful professionally, and why should business leaders care?

• People who have a history in sports tend to be more confident and take bigger risks

Athletes unanimously agree that taking risks and projecting confidence (even if you don’t always feel it inside) are critical success factors in sports and business.

• Athletes are results driven

A common sentiment for people who play sports is that they lead through trust and collaboration, with an eye on measurable objectives and key results. Almost all entrepreneurs with athletic training set short and long-term goals. They are driven by a clear understanding of where they are and where they need to be, breaking their goals down into smaller measurable achievements that led them to the team’s goal.

• People who play sports are effective team players

One US-based study has shown that people who participated in sports were more effective leaders in the workplace. University athletes scored significantly higher than non-athletes in transformational leadership, particularly in two indicators: management of self (including attitudes toward oneself and consideration for others’ well-being) and management of feelings (including motivating co-workers to elicit feelings of competence and meaning from their work).

•  Sports people are resilient

In my experience, playing sport is one of the best mechanisms for building resilience. Playing sports teaches you how to push yourself beyond physical and mental blocks, how to compete, how to fail, and the importance of bouncing back. The best athletes are the people who learn from their failures and bounce back fighting. Learning from your inevitable mistakes or losses means you can be better and wiser than before.

• Women who play sports tend to be more motivated

Female athletes can push themselves outside their comfort zones. They possess intrinsic motivation to be their best, which translates directly to life off the pitch, court, pool, or track.

Despite this, females are leaving sports in their droves, and this may have a real impact on the gender pay gap. 

So, how can we stop females from dropping out of sports?

64% of girls will quit playing sports during their teenage years and often develop deep-rooted negative attitudes towards it, which can form barriers throughout life.

Studies have found the main reason girls leave sport at this age is lack of self-worth and fear of failure. A recent survey in the UK found that 80% of younger girls perceived that sport was for boys and they shouldn’t participate.

Furthermore, despite the powerful influence parents and peers can play in supporting youth sports participation, gendered stereotypes about sports inhibiting girls’ participation are still prominent. Alarmingly, a third of parents (32.2%) endorsed the belief that boys are better at sports than girls.

Personally, I believe that a change in mindset is necessary to keep females in sport throughout their childhood and beyond.

How businesses can help create female leaders

Besides empowering employees to keep their spouses, friends, daughters, sisters, and nieces in sport for longer, businesses can offer commercial support to youth teams. Women’s sport, across all levels, is woefully underfunded.

There have been some incredible performances by female British athletes over the past few months, from the Lionesses winning the Euros at home, in front of a record-breaking crowd at Wembley Stadium, to Katie Taylor and her immense achievement of being the first female main card event in Madison Square Garden. None of these achievements would be possible if it was not for big name brands sponsoring athletes and women’s sporting events. However, businesses do not need to generate millions of pounds in revenue to get involved. It can be as simple as sponsoring a player to help them get to games and buy kit.

How we’re helping real estate businesses become truly diverse and inclusive

Organisations that partner with Willisia Recruitment, not only to tap into the expertise we’ve built over the past 16 years, but also benefit from our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion.

It has been more difficult than ever to attract and hire the best talent, and that challenge is only exemplified when trying to recruit diverse talent. This is where we step in. As specialists in real estate recruitment, we have grown an extensive network of clients who trust us to help them build a diverse team.

If you’re looking to hire your next member of staff, or if it is time for a career change then drop me a message and let’s get a call in the diary.