Ruggiero: "All these things we're talking about, sponsorship, media, rights holders, federations, we need more women at the top"
Monday 17 August 2020 10:33, UK
Sports Innovation Lab CEO Angela Ruggiero says there needs be more women in positions of power to help women's sport thrive in the future.
Ruggiero is a global sports leader, advocate, entrepreneur, author, brand ambassador, investor, motivational speaker, and podcaster.
She's also a leading figure in the sports world, having served as an elite athlete - an American Ice Hockey great - and now she CEO and Co-Founder of Sports Innovation Lab, a technology-powered market research firm empowering industry-leading sports brands to identify the trends, products, and services that will drive the future of sports.
I just have to underscore that point about leadership and seeing more women at the top - it's slowly changing but at least we're seeing some traction.
Speaking to The Women's Sport Debate show, Ruggiero said: "All these things we're talking about, sponsorship, media, rights holders, federations, we need more women at the top.
"At the end of the day those are the people who are making investment decisions, those are the people holding each other accountable. That trickle-line effect. I just have to underscore that point about leadership and seeing more women at the top - it's slowly changing but at least we're seeing some traction. That's the one thing I would advocate more of. Everything else will follow."
Sue Anstiss, who established fearless women, a company with ambition to drive positive change for women's sport, as well as host of the award-winning podcast Game Changers, said: "In order to get funding the board needs to be made up of 30 per cent of one gender, which has really helped in terms of getting more women on.
"To make that happen it doesn't always work when people say 'we're going to set a target' and 'we hope to get there in the future'. I think it helps when it's a little bit more persuasive, sometimes that's public opinion, sometimes it's a reaction from sponsors, sometimes it's withholding funding.
"Sadly, it won't happen in a trickle-down way. If we anticipate it will do then we sometimes need something more forceful to make that change. It's better than it has been, but will a long way to go."
