SUMMIT ON FEMALE LEADERSHIP IN SPORT

The SIGA Summit on Female Leadership in Sport is back and better than ever before in a new exclusive hybrid format kicking off on International Women’s Day!

 

With SIGA Founding Member Mastercard, hosting the Summit at their brand-new Technology Hub in Manhattan New York, this unique thought leadership event will bring together female leaders from all sides of the global sports industry.

 

This two-day high-level event is part of the #SIGAWomen Mentorship Programme, designed to enhance sports governance, drive greater equity and opportunities for women in sport and provides premium networking. The transformations that SIGA seeks are anchored in the SIGA Universal Standards on Good Governance in Sport.

 

Consisting of 10 live webinars together with keynote speeches and one-to-one interviews with high profile industry leaders, the SIGA Summit addresses the most pressing challenges that impact women carving out a career, as well as those women at the top of their game, in one of the most exciting industries on the planet: Sport!

 

Ultimately the reforms SIGA is driving is to create gender equity and more diversity and inclusion as part of the Gold Standard for global sports governance and to hold the industry accountable through the world’s first ever independent rating, verification, and certification system for the industry – SIRVS.

#SIGAWomen #SIGAWoW

 

 JOIN THE MOVEMENT OF CHANGE MAKERS.

BE AN AGENT OF CHANGE

LEAVE YOUR LEGACY.

CREATE THE NEXT GENERATION OF FEMALE LEADERS IN SPORT!

 10 CRITICAL TOPICS

TO DRIVE CHANGE AND BRING GREATER EQUITY FOR WOMEN IN SPORT!

 

In Person places are limited to 70 seats to comply with health and safety restrictions.

First 20 in person delegate passes on sale now.

Register now to secure your place.

In Person Delegate Pass includes:

 Access to the high-level interactive panel sessions

2 Breakfasts, 1 Lunch, Tea and Coffee Breaks, Champagne Toast & Premium Networking!

Digital Delegate Pass:

 Access to the high-level interactive webinars

Day 1: March 8th, 2022

 

08.00-09.00:     Registration, Welcome Breakfast & Networking

09.00-09.15:     Opening Session

09.15-09.20:     Setting the Scenes

09.20-09:40:     Session 1 Keynote & Fireside Chat

Good Governance: The Importance of Parity in the Boardroom & Beyond

Ann Cairns is the pinnacle of female leadership as she currently serves as Executive Vice Chair at Mastercard, where she sits as part of the company’s global management committee. Ann is also chair of ICE Clear Europe, global chair of the 30% Club, the chair of the Financial Alliance for Women and serves as a member of the UK government’s AI Council and the IBDE advisory board. This is a keynote not to be missed followed by a fireside chat where we will address the tough questions: are quotas the answer to trigger meaningful change, or do they lead to tokenism and create artificial opportunities, not based on merit? How do we ensure that change is long-lasting, comprehensive, and from root to branch? What lessons can Sport learn from other industries?

09.40-10.25:     Session 2:         Women Leading the Way in Sport

If you can see it, you can be it! Showcasing what is possible is part of breaking down stigmas and shattering the gender glass ceiling.

This panel celebrates those women in senior leadership roles in Sport and focuses on their careers, how they got there, the challenges they faced along the way and how enhanced governance can lead to more diversity and inclusion.

Join us as we shine a spotlight on their expertise and what these women are doing to pave the way for the younger generation of female leaders in Sport.

10.25-10.45:     Break with Refreshments

10.45-11.30:     Session 3          Putting Diversity & Inclusion into Action in Sport

Gender equity is one side of the coin, diversity, and inclusion, the other. Research has consistently shown that increasing diversity is not only the right thing to do for an organisation’s culture, but it also results in better business outcomes, powering innovation.

In global corporations, diversity and inclusion is being implemented at all levels, including boardroom, recruitment practices and consumer marketing. Yet Sport seems left behind.

This panel brings together some of the top ED&I leaders in Sport and other industries to share what is being done to reset the tone from the top and create more diversity and inclusion in senior leadership roles in the industry.

11.35-12.20:     Session 4:         Fair Play On & Off the Pitch: Athlete Activism 

The power of athletes to move the needle on pressing social issues to create a positive change, both on and off the field, is a force that is unrivalled. Athletes, embodying the values of sport (e.g., fair play, teamwork, respect, and honesty), can fight social injustices, break barriers, and create a more level playing field, in all aspects of life.

This panel celebrates the career of female athletes that have achieved this. What are the challenges, how did they overcome the hurdles, what is their legacy for the next generation of female leaders in the Sports industry and the wider world? Do not miss this!

12.20-12.35      SIGA SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD

12.35-13.35:     Lunch & Networking 

13.35-14.20:     Session 5: Sustain the Game: Changing the Rules

Sustainability is increasingly part of corporate social responsibility for all industries and is part of good governance.

Sport too can lead the way in changing the rules of the game to ensure a more sustainable earth. From making grounds and stadiums run on 100% renewable energy, making medals from recycled materials to even revolutionising motorsports to electric vehicles, it is possible to instigate a cultural shift to counter the threat of climate change.

This panel showcases the women that are responsible for a greener, more sustainable Sport that we can all be proud of. What are the most pressing challenges ahead? How can we break down old mentalities and change habits? This is leadership in action!

14.25-15.10:     Session 6: Sport Sponsorship and Integrity: Commercialising the Women’s Game

Women’s Sport has never been so popular. And yet, despite the advancements, there is a disparity between the men’s and women’s game, both in terms of revenue, airtime, media coverage and fans.

How do we catch up and make the women’s game stand on its own? Do global brands see the women’s game as an opportunity to score, and how do we translate increased popularity to revenue? Should the women’s game be packaged differently and how do we generate more fans? And what is the status quo in the women’s’ game as far as Sport Integrity is concerned? What lessons can be learned by the men’s game?

Now is the time to take women’s sport to a new level! Watch this panel and find out how and why we can all help to commercialise the women’s game!

15.15-15.30      Session 7: One-to-One Session

15.30-16.15:     Session 8: Sport & Technology: Women at the Cutting Edge

Women are underrepresented at every level of Sport. Another sector where this is readily apparent is within technology. The Sports Technology industry is expected to be a $30 billion industry by 2034. The range, scope, and diversity of this sector in terms of opportunities is huge, and yet the proportionality of females is significantly lacking.

This panel is designed to help supercharge this movement by showcasing pioneers in the field of Sports Technology that are embracing dynamic, inclusive approaches and reaping the benefits. Through illuminating their example, leadership and inspirational experiences this session aims to empower, encourage, reveal and sign post creative and innovative ways that women can access this exciting industry.

16.15-17.00:     Champagne Toast and Networking

Day 2: March 9th, 2022

 

08.00-09.00:     Registration, Breakfast & Networking

09.00-09.45:     Session 8: #SIGAWomen #SIGAWoW! The Power of Mentorship

In February 2018, SIGA set in motion a worldwide, action-orientated programme, designed to encourage and promote future female leaders in Sport and foster greater diversity within the sporting industry, as enshrined by the SIGA Universal Standards on Good Governance in Sport.

Empowering women, conveying confidence, teaching vital leadership skills, and creating invaluable experiences, the SIGAWomen Mentorship Programme offers prospective mentees a unique  set of opportunities to forge relationships with women that have trodden the leadership path, with a combination of focus group, as well as bilateral discussions.

This panel showcases the #SIGAWomen Programme and is a call to action for other likeminded women to join! If you are a woman and have smashed the glass ceiling, take a step forward and play a leading role in shaping the next generation of female leaders.

09.50-10.35:     Session 9: Sport for Development: Empowering Girls Now!

It was not so long ago that girls were expected to stay home, stay silent and valued for appearances and reproduction. In some parts of the world, this is still the case.

Sport is the ultimate development tool to break barriers and instigate cultural change.

This session shines a light on women that are working in the sports industry to drive cultural change for young women, from grassroots upwards.

How can sport bring empowerment, independence, and courage for girls to break down doors and shatter glass ceilings? What factors prevent girls from participating in Sports and aspiring to exert a leading role in the industry? How do we change the paradigm? These speakers have the answers.

10.40 – 11:25    Session 10: Finding Male Champions: The Role of Men in Promoting Female Leadership in Sport

To improve gender balance in the board room, it is not only up to women to push for leadership. Men also have a major role to play in changing the needle and creating more opportunities for female leadership in Sport.

What can and should they do? How do we bring more male allies on board? What wider societal shifts need to happen? How do we make the conversation more mainstream and avoid talking to ourselves? What can we, as a collective, do – within six months or 12 months?  Keeping the conversation continues outside of safe spaces, this panel will address these and other critical questions.

11:25 – 11:40: Closing Remarks