Aussie women will have higher chances of becoming leaders in sport thanks to a new round funding grants just released last week by the Minister for Sport, Kate Ellis, and the Minister for the Status of Women, Tanya Plibersek.

Ms Ellis says that “participation by women in sport management and coaching is well below that of men (and) we’re keen to change this situation."

The grants, totalling $400,000, would help women to undertake accredited training and development in coaching, officiating, governance and sports management. For example, it is playing a crucial part in:

The grants are aimed at the areas of: high-performance coaching/officiating; Indigenous women; disabled women; women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; and general female sport leadership.

Ms Plibersek recognises that Australia stands to benefit from having more women in leadership, responsibility and decision-making roles in the sporting arena. Not only does it "add to the depth and diversity of sport," but women in such positions stand as role-models who can encourage and inspire other women to make their mark in Australian sport - a realm seen to be conventionally male-dominated.

Since its inception, the Sports Leadership Grants for Women program (a joint funding venture by the Australian Sports Commission and the Office for Women) had helped over 15,000 women from around Australia to develop high-level skills in their sport, Ms Plibersek says.