A report published in early 2025, produced within a joint project of the Council of Europe and the European Commission, shows that women continue to hold a limited share of senior leadership positions in European sport, with progress at the highest levels remaining slow despite wider gender-equality efforts.**
Based on data from 21 European jurisdictions, the analysis finds that women account for just around 12 percent of presidents of national sports federations. While this figure has increased slightly in recent years, overall change remains modest. Representation improves further down the leadership structure: women hold approximately 29 percent of vice-presidential and board positions. Even so, most federations report boards where women make up 30 percent or less of members.
The analysis spans multiple areas of sport, including leadership, coaching, officiating, participation and governance, and highlights significant variation between countries. Sweden, Finland and Iceland consistently record higher shares of women across presidential, vice-presidential and board roles, while Montenegro, Malta and Greece remain among those with the lowest representation. In some jurisdictions, individual federations report no female board members at all.
Differences are also evident across sports. Canoe and kayak, ice hockey and wrestling currently report no women in presidential roles, while skating, rowing and gymnastics show comparatively higher levels of female leadership. Gymnastics and skating stand out as among the few disciplines with boards approaching gender balance.
Since 2020, around 60 percent of sports organisations surveyed have introduced measures aimed at increasing women’s participation in decision-making roles. According to the report, National Olympic Committees have been the most active, followed by government ministries and National Paralympic Committees, while sports federations have implemented fewer such initiatives.
Overall, the findings suggest that while targeted actions have contributed to incremental progress, women remain markedly underrepresented in senior leadership positions across much of European sport.