Gendered networking in international sport governance

Research question We aim to develop a deeper understanding of gendered networking in international sport governance. Specifically, we examine the perceptions and experiences of networking amongst women and men senior postholders within international federations (IFs). Research methods We draw on interview data from in-depth semi-structured interviews with six men and six women British senior postholders across 12 different Olympic (n = 10) and Paralympic (n = 2) IFs. Results and findings Networking was reported to be an instrumental factor in obtaining and maintaining a career in international sport governance. We present and discuss a ‘4 p’s typology’ that reflects and represents interviewees’ perceptions and experiences of the roles and mechanisms of networking: profile, place, purpose, and preference. We found that the roles and mechanisms of networking were complex and multi-faceted, spanning individual goals and strategies and group/organisational aims and processes. Furthermore, whilst men and women interviewees were mostly uniform in their perceptions of the roles and mechanisms of networking, there were clear gender differences in their experiences of, and outcomes from, networking. Implications Overall, the findings from this paper demonstrate how influential and important networking is for both individual career advancement and organisational agendas and decisions. Given this, our findings on the gendered nature of networking can be problematic if already underrepresented women benefit less than men from valuable networking activities. We end the paper by providing some recommendations for future research and concrete short-term strategies that can be implemented to work towards gender-inclusive networking.