ASTN and Women in Sports Tech release report on female sports innovators in Australia

February 28, 2023

Australian Sports Technologies Network and Women in Sports Tech have today released a new report - ‘Paving the way for Sports Innovation in Australia’ – in recognition and celebration of more than 100 women who are leading sports innovation across Australia within government, industry, sporting institutions, universities and high-performance sport.

Cam Vale, General Manager Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) shares “we are proud to partner with Women in Sports Tech (WiST) to shift the culture of sportstech in Australia. Women are still highly unrepresented across the local sportstech sector, and the industry must work together to do more to inspire our next generation of female entrepreneurs and remove barriers. We have a long way to go but by working closely with WiST we hope to help change the ratio and drive real industry change,”

The list of 100+ leaders was compiled by a combination of Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) workshops, interviews, desktop research and conversations with executive leaders over the past 12 months. ASTN and WiST have focused on the intersection of mostly Australian-domiciled females working at the intersection of data, digital and technology in Australian Sports Performance, Digitisation and Sports Business.  

Gender participation and executive representation of sport in Australia has been a focus of policy makers and industry; however, the representation of female founders and female executives within the fast-growth area of “Sports Innovation” (the intersection of data, digital and technology within Sports, Entertainment, Esports and Digital Health) needs attention with research showing that less than 5% of sports startups in Australia are led by women¹.

Cam Vale notes “The ASTN-WiST Power 100+ list recognises women that are at the heart of Australia’s billion-dollar sportstech industry. We are building one of the world’s most advanced and integrated sports innovations ecosystems and women in sports innovation must be a top strategic priority over the next decade as we move towards the Brisbane 2032 Summer Olympic Games.”

"Research² tells us that inclusivity drives innovation and that gender-diverse teams are 25% more likely to generate above-average revenue and profits. Also, nearly all job seekers today consider DEI focus to be a requirement, not just a preference. Leadership sets the tone, and we are delighted to support ASTN's efforts with specific programs that have proven to provide tangible results over the last six years with over 30 corporate partners, including Nike, the NBA, Comcast NBC Sports, IBM Sports, Titleist, the USOPC and more,” added Marilou McFarlane, Chief Executive/Founder of WiST, experienced leader in the sportstech industry for over 12 years.

The full report ‘Paving the way for Sports Innovation in Australia (Power 100+ List)’ can be downloaded here

This is the first edition of the ‘ASTN-WiST list of leading women in sportstech’. ASTN and WiST invite anyone in the ecosystem to contribute to this report. If you believe someone should be added to this list – please reach out to ASTN’s Communications Manager, Tara Ballard (tara.ballard@astn.com.au).

ASTN and WiST are working together to build specialised programs and activities for 2023 – including the launch of ‘Fireside Chats’ with the first webinar ‘Culture Matters’ being held on 22nd March, 2023. Register here to join the conversation.

[1] Startup Victoria (2017). Mapping Victoria’s Startup Ecosystem, page 20

[2] McKinsey&Company (2020), Diversity wins – How inclusion Matters, page 6

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