Brockett, Camilla ORCID: 0000-0003-4933-8056 and Quartarella, Gemma (2024) Sustainable Leadership Pathways For Women in Motorsport. Project Report. Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria. (In Press)

Abstract

Purpose of Report: Motorsport Australia aims to build a diverse workforce that can better serve and support its members and stakeholders. Despite these goals, women remain underrepresented across all levels of leadership within Motorsport Australia’s Governance Structure. This report aims to explore the barriers and challenges faced by women in advancing to leadership roles in Motorsport Australia’s Governance Structure and to identify potential strategies and areas of improvement to better support their progression within the organisation. Victoria University is committed to creating inclusive communities and seeks to conduct research that addresses issues of equity and inclusion in sport. With its strong focus on promoting diversity, gender equity and driving positive social change, Victoria University is well-suited to collaborate with Motorsport Australia to achieve these objectives. Drawing on previous research, semi-structured interviews and a comprehensive survey, this report will provide more understanding of the current state of female leadership within Motorsport Australia’s Governance Structure as well as develop clear and viable pathways for women in motorsport that aspire to leadership positions in this organisation. Overview of Method: To meet study objectives, a two-phase mixed methods research design was implemented. Phase 1 involved a desktop audit of key Motorsport Australia documents and the Motorsport Australia website, alongside a comprehensive literature review of over 120 research journal articles. These articles explored themes such as female leadership, motorsport, male dominated industries, diversity, sport leadership, governance and management. This phase aimed to contextualise the study and inform the development of survey and interview questions for data collection in Phase 2. Phase 2 consisted of data collection through a survey and semi-structured interviews. The survey, which was distributed to Motorsport Australia members and staff, collected 131 responses, providing quantitative data to support and expand upon findings from Phase 1. Additionally, a total of seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with female members of Motorsport Australia, providing in-depth qualitative insights. This study was approved by the Victoria University Human Research Ethics Committee (HRE24-104).

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