KATIE SADLEIR Voice of change

Words: Zoe¨ George Image: Chris McKeen

Katie Sadleir is one of the most powerful women in global sport. That’s not an opinion, it’s a fact.

She’s been shaping rugby as general manager of the women’s game at World Rugby, based in Dublin, since 2017. Her focus has been on diversity, inclusion and normalising women’s roles both on and off the field.

‘‘I took on that role for a specific reason. It wasn’t about the glitz and glamour . . . but it was about sport for empowerment and leadership development, and sport for social change. That was really important,’’ she says.

In 2020, she was the only woman named by Rugby World Magazine in a top 10 most influential people in rugby – only one of two New Zealanders, and ahead of any All Blacks. Wallabies coach Dave Rennie was the other. That was a ‘‘big wow moment’’ for her. ‘‘It made me feel proud. It was great for women’s rugby and . . . we were getting results people were noticing.’’

The results speak for themselves. She’s helped develop a strategic framework to grow participation, pathways and exposure of women, with her main focus on driving leadership.

When Sadleir arrived at the organisation, 27 per cent of rugby players globally were female, yet they weren’t represented on the global sport’s council. Instead, there were 30 men.

‘‘The 30 men knew they needed to do something about this. World Rugby prides itself in demonstrating international best practice in leadership and that was not it,’’ she says.

By the end of her first year, 17 women sat around the table. Two sub-committees are now chaired by women, including two New Zealanders, and a governance review is under way with a focus on diversity and inclusion.

Sadleir’s also in the middle of rolling out campaigns for the 2021 Rugby World Cup for women, hosted by New Zealand; negotiating deals with sponsors and broadcasters, and she has established coaching internships for women this year. Of the top 16 nations in sevens and 15s, there was only one female head coach, and a small handful of female assistant coaches. ‘‘Instant outcome at the end of 2021. There will be 12 more women who have coached at a World Cup level.’’

She’s also focused on developing pathways for participation in regions where women’s rights have previously been impeded – Iran, Syria, Malaysia, Laos. The latter now has more girls than boys playing rugby. That was a major reason she took the role. ‘‘What sport is doing is giving [girls] the opportunity to stay in school, to give them a profession called coaching, to develop themselves in leadership roles.

‘‘The Muslim girls playing rugby, the girls in Mongolia playing snow rugby, the kids in Uganda that are on the beach throwing the ball around. It’s so exciting to see the growth in countries that you wouldn’t think would embrace such a physically demanding, challenging and confronting type of sport. But it’s such a powerful sport.’’

Then throw Covid-19 into the mix. ‘‘I often get asked . . . ‘Isn’t this a disastrous situation for women in sport?’ From a rugby perspective, globally we are doing more than we’ve ever done. What we do have is more people and more time to think creatively, and different organisations wanting to put in resources to get somewhere faster.’’

It’s about working ‘‘smarter, not harder’’ to solve the ‘‘series of challenges’’ sport faces, including the current welfare issues in the likes of gymnastics and canoe racing in New Zealand. ‘‘I think the integrity issue is a big piece globally, and you’re seeing it in all sorts of forms, and linked to that is people having open and honest conversations about things.

‘‘Creating opportunities where people can have courageous conversations in a way that they are not threatened; coming together to create collaborative solutions with people from different perspectives, and we need to move away from the ‘same old, same old way’ of approaching planning, decision-making, risk mitigation, and bringing in diverse ideas, in a way that people can talk.

‘‘It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s going to be a good challenge.’’

Diversity is something Sadleir talks about a lot. Diversity of leadership. Diversity of thought. Diversity of experience. She’s had plenty of diversity both in her professional and personal life; boardroom tables and disrupting traditional sports culture is a far cry from her early days.

Born in Scotland to Australian and Scottish parents, the family headed to Canada, then, when she was 16, settled in Lower Hutt. She spent many years in ‘‘magical’’ Petone, but you won’t find her name on Jackson St’s Walk of Champions, even though she represented New Zealand at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

The 56-year-old grew up with the ‘‘balance is better’’ attitude, engaging in a multitude of sports and activities – from figure skating to singing and dancing en pointe – but it was the water she was most drawn to, combining her love of art and sport in synchronised swimming.

She first dabbled with the sport at age 8, going on to represent Canada, and eventually New Zealand. She and sister Lynette placed 12th at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles – the first time the sport featured in the games – before Sadleir claimed bronze individually at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, in front of ‘‘every single aunt, uncle and cousin’’ from her Scottish side. She was coached by Lynette.

That was her final stint in the pool for New Zealand, but she’s been involved with nine Olympics and Commonwealth Games in a supporting capacity. Her first board position was in her early 20s when she was appointed to the New Zealand Swimming Federation board. It was in those formative years that she knew she wanted to have a professional career in the sports industry, but wasn’t too sure what path she’d take.

So she applied for a masters programme at Victoria University, completing a thesis in the attraction of swimming in masters sports. While studying fulltime, she was approached by the Hillary Commission to work on the ‘‘gain, train, retain’’ programme addressing the role of volunteers in the delivery of sport.

‘‘I was sitting there thinking ‘Do I want to do this?’ The alternative was to work at an outdoor swimming pool, work on my tan and write my thesis,’’ she laughs. ‘‘But I jumped in.’’

The project became the ‘‘government manifesto’’ on the importance of volunteers. Her work got noticed overseas, and she was seconded to help the Australian Sports Commission do something similar.

What followed were roles with the NZ Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission – ‘‘athletes should have a voice’’ – Sport New Zealand and the New Zealand Academy of Sport.

She dipped her toe further into the public sector. First, four years as a general manager at ACC, then in local government with Wellington City Council, and then two years as the project director of Te Auaha – the New Zealand Institute of Creativity – which she is incredibly proud of.

‘‘People . . .. thought, ‘Are you actually able to do that?’ I’ve been one of those people that if someone says that to me . . . that’s ‘Bring it on’.’’

She says her peers describe her as ‘‘very direct’’, ‘‘emotional’’ and wearing her heart on her sleeve. She was also described as a ‘‘bolshie blonde’’ by a media outlet overseas. What’s wrong with that, she says? ‘‘Own it.’’

‘‘There’s still a perception about how you’re supposed to act as a woman versus a man. We still have those things where it’s all right if a male acts that way and not all right if a woman acts that way.

‘‘The issue is people perceive the way you act is about your gender. It’s not about your gender, it’s about who you are . . . We want strong women leaders to say what they need to say without thinking they are going to be shot down about it. It’s the way it has to roll going forward.’’

Diversity also features in her personal life. ‘‘I’m a closet artist,’’ she laughs. When she’s not trying to shape the sports world, she shapes pottery, screen printing and mosaic art. A lot of her art adorns the walls of her sister’s house and her garden. And she’s a trained singer.

For now, she’s using her voice in sport and is swapping her pottery wheel for the boardroom table.

‘‘If you’re going to be at the table, you do lean in. You’ve got to step up. Make sure you’re there advocating for the future and for other women . . . and men to come forward.

‘‘Let’s get on with it.’’

‘‘It’s not about your gender, it’s about who you are.’’