The present research is part of a project that looks at the behaviour and profile of National Sport Federation administrators, with an emphasis on Venezuelan women’s participation in sport leadership. The main objective of this paper is to present a descriptive analysis of women in sport leadership in Venezuela, specifically in sport federations registered at the National Institute of Sport.

The National Institute of Sport (IND) is the official government organisation that registers and controls sport and physical education development in Venezuela. It has 54 registered national federations, however only 40 are considered for this study as they are the ones which have had more activities and participation in national and internationally sport development. All the positions on the IND Board are elected and there has been a national sport law since 1982.

Women’s participation in leadership positions is a topic that has been discussed in several places, for example the United Nations in the Declaration of Human Rights and international organisations who have raised their voices (e.g., the International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women, the International Working Group, the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education and Women’s Sport International) to look for a balance in gender issues in different sectors and aspects of society, and particularly in sport. Hannan (2005) indicated that the various reports sent by nations to the United Nations show some positive advances of women in society, nevertheless it is still observed the huge gap between policies and practice. Hartmann-Tews and Pfister (2003) present studies from 15 nations where in all of them, women are underrepresented in the decision-making areas either as volunteer or public sector positions. Another interesting conclusion that both authors indicate refers to the fact that there is limited academic research related to women and sport, that there is not enough support for research in this area and that even linguistic barriers prevent the information from reaching a larger audience. This last aspect in particular motivated me to look at the situation of women in leadership positions in Venezuela.

In Venezuela there is limited published data or academic studies about women’s representation in sport, specifically in leadership roles (e.g., Garradez, 1994; Murillo, 2005). Several research articles were reviewed (e.g., Doll-Tepper, Pfister and Radtke, 2006; Doll-Tepper, Pfister, Scoretz and Bilan, 2005; Pfister, 2005; Hodven, 2005) and the questionnaire used by Pfister was translated into Spanish, with consent, and adapted for the purpose of this study. This exploratory research used questionnaires, interviews and bibliographical review. Preliminary results of the study are presented in this paper but more analysis is currently being undertaken. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted with sport administrators from several sport federations (basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, weightlifting, triathlon, aquatic sports, hockey, table tennis, deaf sports); the main focus was on attitudes towards gender, reasons for working as a sport leader, benefits, obstacles and procedures in the sport regulations. They were five male and five female interviewees. It was interesting to observe that there was much similarity in their answers and similar views in spite of the fact that they belong to different sports. All agreed that in the past, it had been hard to find women in administrative positions, nevertheless as the years have passed, this has changed and more women are participating in leadership positions in sport. This can be observed in the following quotations:

The questionnaire was sent to 40 registered National Sport Federations. It addressed issues related to: educational level, private lives, commitment to sport, age, family, experiences, barriers. The processes started in October, 2005, with five questionnaires sent to each federation. Some had to be sent twice. In total, 200 questionnaires were distributed. To date, 38 replies have been recevied from different sports: basketball, volleyball, kicking ball, softball, athletics, fencing, cycling, canoeing, triathlon, ‘bolas criollas’ and ‘coleo’ (traditional sports). For the purpose of this paper, we will refer to the third part of the questionnaire in which gender issues within the sport organisation were explored.

1) Is gender equity an important element in your organisation?

2) Is there gender equity in sport?

3) What do you think about the gender relations in the boards and committees of sport organisations?

4) How should the organisations deal with the gender problem?

5. According to your opinion, what are the largest barriers against gender equality in sport organisations?

The barriers women face to becoming sport leaders, mentioned by both male or female leaders, referred to politics, time and family. All interviewees indicated that the amount of time dedicated to sport compromised their dedication towards family. It is also common that most of them do not work full time in their respective professional careers and they have dedicated more to sport. The other common element mentioned is that it is too hard to get to the top levels in administrative sport positions as there is too much egotism. All agreed that once the leader is established at the top levels, in spite of the fact that they do not receive any salary, the support received to participate in national and international events, along with the satisfaction to motivate and participate in the development of sport, pays for all the sacrifices they have made.

The interviewees also believed that women participate less in sport due to cultural issues, for example it was not so common for women to participate in sport in the early 1970s, but this has changed and nowadays there is much more participation at all levels. Nevertheless, it is still not enough in comparison with men’s participation - women still have a way to go.

Many changes have been taking place in the world in terms of women’s participation in all areas of society. The changes that have occurred in Venezuela are not isolated. It started with changes in the national constitution and it has extended to other areas. For example in the recent elections for parliament in the National Assembly, the increase in women’s participation has been significant. In the past there was a relationship of 9 men to 1 woman, at present it is 3 to 1, so nowadays, in the Venezuelan National Assembly, 30% are women. This has also be transferred to other organisations, e.g., after the most recent national election, there are now three women and two men as members of the National Electoral Council. Of the 34 board federations reviewed, 36 of the top 170 leadership positions are held by women (counting the top five leadership positions in each organisation). This represents 21.1%, so indeed more balance is needed.

There is much more that needs to change in order to look for the better people to perform the jobs, instead of being prevented by gender issues. In sport, it is important to indicate that much needs to be done to incorporate more women to participate at all levels. One of the interviewees noted that “parents prefer their daughters to be professionals rather than athletes because they believe sport will not provide them much benefits” (Oswaldo Bórges). It is interesting to observe that families views have also changed because it is now important for a woman to have a degree. It is a task that all those who are involved in the physical activity world have to communicate to society the advantages of women in sporting organisations and that both things can be combined.

The opinion of the interviewees highlighted the fact that many more women need to be included in leadership position. If it is true that it has improved, then it is possible to become better.

In general, it is observed that there is acknowledgement of the importance of women’s participation in sport as leaders, e.g., “women are doing well, they are more discipline, men’s presence in leadership is more than women and it should be more balanced” (Yamil Guliani – Vice-president of Venezuelan Federation of Weightlifting). It is a good sign for the changing culture of leadership in sport.

A research of this nature was and is not easy for several reasons. All of the administrative positions in the federations are run by volunteers, few with previous contact to a university and even less with academic research. Nevertheless, the outcomes of the questionnaires and even more the interviews are very significant. The aim of this paper is to initiate a discussion in terms of women’s participation in leadership position in Venezuela, to listen to their voices and experiences.

It is relevant to start illustrating the importance of academic research to gather quantitative and qualitative data in order to understand the culture of leadership in sport. In Venezuela at the moment, women do participate in sport leadership position, nevertheless through this study we understand that their significant contribution in sport organisations and the numbers should increase. It is a process of many years and at present it is at its best. Nevertheless, more action and research needs to be conducted and published in order to motivate much more participation of women in leadership positions.