Sport Sector: Why women aren’t applying for your roles (and six ways to fix it)

In 2025 women’s sport dominated headlines in the UK. The Lionesses successfully defended their European title, Arsenal’s Women’s team stormed to victory in the Champions League, the Red Roses reclaimed their World Cup title, and Lottie Woad won the Women’s Scottish Open.  

With a peak viewership of 16.2 million in the UK, the Women’s Euro 2025 Final wasn’t just the most-watched TV moment of the year, it also made a powerful statement about the sport’s mainstream appeal. The semi-final’s 9.9 million viewers further solidified this, demonstrating that interest extends further than simply the final. With a cumulative live audience of nearly 500 million across all platforms, it’s clear that these are not fleeting audiences. Sustained engagement across multiple matches and platforms indicates a dedicated and growing fan base.

The fanbase for women’s sport is growing, as is the number of women who want to work in sport. But the sector’s legacy of male dominance can make it harder for clubs, organisations and governing bodies to attract and retain female candidates. “The way things have always been done” simply doesn’t work for female talent in 2026. Unsociable hours, unchecked working expectations and last-minute shift changes mean the sector loses out on brilliant talent.  

Women remain the default parent and are statistically more likely to become carers for other family members. When working patterns don’t flex to recognise this, or when pay structures or promotions favour those who’ve always fitted the mould, progress becomes much harder than it should be. Often leading to women leaving the sector completely.  

As women’s sport becomes more mainstream, sports organisations have an opportunity to prove the industry is evolving. Meaningful change happens long before a contract is signed. It begins with recruitment; with small, consistent, transparent actions that help build trust. Below are six practical ways to ensure your workplace isn’t just easy for women to join, but a place where they choose to stay.  

We’ll look at:  

1. Set clear salary bands and simple criteria  
2. Make rotas predictable with fair swap rules 
3. Support safe travel after late finishes 
4. Speak up and reporting that works 
5. Return to work clarity 
6. Clear routes to permanent positions 

1. Set clear salary bands and simple criteria 

No matter how prestigious your club or organisation, pay matters. It’s the first thing candidates look at. In the current economic environment, applicants need clarity, not just on the salary range, but the measurable criteria for where they might sit within that range (and how they’ll progress through it). If pay ranges and criteria are unclear, or completely hidden, good applicants will drift away. For women in particular, who statistically earn less, unclear pay signals can be an immediate deal-breaker. 

Action: Make sure you publish the salary range for each role you advertise. Add a simple sentence or two on criteria, specifically where most starters sit, what earns steps within that band and when reviews happen. Keep it simple and uncomplicated.  

Explain any allowances in plain English. If you offer late finish premiums after a home game, travel reimbursement or kit support, then say so. Make sure this is outlined within the role description and also on your career pages. Don’t bury the information in a policy folder no one will find.  

Concerned that your pay range is modest?  It’s still important to be upfront about it. Transparency beats silence every time. A small salary band with a real first step is better than a big promise no one can see. This honesty allows candidates to make informed decisions that help with longer-term retention.  

Pay expenses on time. A week’s delay may not feel like much to a large organisation, but for someone balancing rent, travel and potentially childcare, it matters a lot.  

Make it bite-sized: Change doesn’t need to happen overnight. Add salary range and pay-progression criteria to your top five job roles this month. Ensure a salary range field is templated into future job requisitions/ads using your applicant tracking software. Write a short, plain English pay FAQ and link to it from every job ad.  

2. Make rotas predictable with fair swap rules

Sport sector work frequently involves late finishes and weekend work. Candidates understand this. Clarity on any work patterns from the get-go is vital. The use of clear, pre-organised rotas enables employees to plan their life outside of work. Last minute changes and unreliable shift swaps can make this balance impossible, particularly for employees with family responsibilities.  

It’s worth noting that in 2026 most women in the UK still undertake the lion’s share of parenting responsibilities and are also more likely to become carers to members of their extended family. By clarifying rotas in advance and showing flexibility, you’re signalling an understanding that you value their contribution and understand they have lives outside of work too.   

Action: For casual and shift working staff publish rotas on a set day, ideally two weeks ahead and stick to it. Decide on simple but fair rules for swapping, and consider who can swap, who approves swaps and time limits on when swaps can be made. Remember, flexibility is important, life can be unpredictable.  

Make sure that you are clear in job adverts about working patterns. For example: ‘Candidates should expect to work late finishes and Saturdays fortnightly throughout the football season.  Rotas will always be issued two weeks in advance’. Governing bodies can use the same process to illustrate how often employees might be expected to travel or to attend events throughout the season.  

These are the realities of working in sport, but it shouldn’t mean that half the workforce is ruled out. Being upfront helps filter applicants for fit and avoids mismatched expectations. Clear job information, that demonstrates an organisation has taken all its employees into consideration shows honesty and transparency, improving the candidate experience and allowing applicants to make informed choices.   

Make it bite-sized: Publish a one-page rota policy, add a single line about working patterns and/or rotas to all new job adverts. Consider logging late rota changes for a fortnight to identify where issues arise.  

3. Support safe travel after late finishes

All evening events should end well for staff too. Walking back to an isolated, badly lit carpark, or trying to get late night buses or trains home can be anxiety-inducing (as well as potentially dangerous) for female employees.  

By considering the safety of all your employees, but particularly your female employees, you are taking a proactive approach towards making your organisation a good choice for women. Consider where they might park, options for homebound travel and make sure line managers are regularly checking in with employees about safety concerns.  

Action: Publish typical finish times, the safe travel options you support (buddy rules, safe parking areas, shuttles etc.) and who to contact if there’s an issue. If parking fees apply on late finishes, decide if the organisation covers them or not. If taxis are allowed after certain hours, set the trigger and a simple approval route. Keep your promises realistic and make sure line managers are aware of all approved options.  

The message is simple and powerful. You are signalling to applicants that you recognise safe travel is important, particularly for women late at night. Safety and predictability make applying for a job or staying in role possible.  

Make it bite-sized: Add a late-finish travel note to role pages, agree these rules with operations and publish a single point of contact for any incidents (NB, this needs to be someone who is able to take late calls and respond, not pick up a message the next working day). Ensure all issues are logged and dealt with and reviewed quarterly for any necessary changes to protocols.  

4. Speak up and reporting that works 

Everyone knows how important it is for team members to speak up when they have a concern, particularly around safety, bullying and harassment. But in order to raise concerns employees must feel safe to do so, believe they will be listened to and know how to report issues. Women are far less likely to report concerns, often fearing they won’t be believed, or will be labelled as ‘difficult’. Clear, visible reporting routes with guaranteed follow-through are essential for building trust with female staff. Internal communications play an important role here, but it’s vital to demonstrate this to potential candidates too – show them you’re a safe place to work.   

Action: create a one-page document that explains your Speak Up policy and the protocols you have in place to protect staff from any kind of bullying or harassment. Make sure that this document is easily searchable on your website and include links to it from your career pages too.  

Make it easy to report any health and welfare issues around late finishes too. Clarity and follow-through build trust. And when colleagues trust you are there to support them, they’ll want to stay.  

Make it bite-sized: publish a ‘speak up’ page on your website and add links on your career pages. Test any reporting forms you already have running and review response time targets with HR and Safeguarding teams.  

5. Return to work clarity 

Women are far more likely to take extended leave – whether for maternity, caring responsibilities, ill health or injury. Making the move away and the return simple and respectful goes a long way to building trust, not just for the individual, but also for other women within your organisation who are watching how colleagues are treated.  

Action: publish a short guide for returning staff. Explain if duties have been adjusted, any refresher training needed and add a named contact for any queries. Clearly state any flexibility you’ve built into the return-to-work period, and who signs that off. Where necessary consider offering a buddy system and/or check ins with a line manager over the first few months. If uniform or kit need issuing, make any swaps or adjustments simple and quick.  

Don’t forget to ensure open lines of communication prior to an employee’s return. From keep in touch meetings for permanent staff to systems for asking practical questions about rotas and shifts, a predictable route back into work protects trust you’ve already built. It also sends a strong signal to the rest of your team that you are a modern, flexible employer.  

Make it bite-sized: Write a one-page return guide, ensuring you include a named contact. Consider scheduling a shorter ‘rehearsal shift’ for your next returner. Different protocols will work for different roles, consider using feedback routes on small sample groups to see what works best.  Be sure that information on personal leave and return to work is clearly outlined on your careers pages, showing you are a trustworthy, flexible employer. 

6. Clear route to permanent positions 

Many professional sports organisations rely heavily on casual staff and volunteers – roles that women often take to balance caregiving responsibilities or test the waters in a male-dominated sector. They keep events running and doors open for both competitive matches and outreach work. Lots of employees take up these roles in the hope of moving to more permanent and/or paid positions within clubs and governing bodies, but without visible pathways, women are more likely to assume the door is closed and move on.  

Action: when job advertising, publish clear information about potential progression routes. Accept that for many, casual work is a preference or a necessity. For others, who’d like to convert to more permanent roles define three triggers you can check, for example, reliability over a season, learnt skills to be signed off and positive feedback from colleagues and/or participants.  

Where possible, offer short paid try-outs for next-level roles, with written briefs and simple scoring. Think about having conversion windows, perhaps each quarter. Consider the frequency at which more permanent roles come up and be honest about this. False hope is far more damaging.  

Demonstrating clear pathways, showing predictability and honesty helps female staff see how their efforts could turn into a more permanent role, and helps retain top talent.  

Make it bite-sized: Publish options for progression on your career pages. List triggers for progression and, if you’ve decided on conversion windows, publish those too.  

Making space for more female talent in your organisation does not require grand gestures or huge programmes of overhaul. It simply requires a consistent, predictable and fair approach. Small changes to your recruitment workflows, transparency and thoughtful consideration about the challenges for women working in sport will do the heavy lifting for you.   

Dedicated applicant tracking software can streamline HR workflows and support this work. If you’d like to know more, Reach out for a demo today.