Following International Women’s Day, it’s also an important moment for us to reflect on how ISC continues to elevate women’s voices across sport.
For the International Sports Convention 2026, 25.53% of our speakers are women. We know this isn’t where it should be — and we want to do better. Our goal for the last 3 years and going forwards is to be at a minimum of 50%.
The previous three years have ranged from 33% to 45%. However when we started in 2010 this was 6%.
ISC Delegate attendance for women keeps increasing and this is excellent to see.
“At ISC we are transparent on where we are on data and figures. These are facts and provide us a clear picture on where we are but also the wider industry. For over a decade we have published our figures ahead of our flagship event the International Sports Convention. The growth of the business side of Women’s Sport has also meant we have carved out ISC’s own and specific summit – The ISC Women’s Sport Business Summit and Awards. Last year this took place at the prestigious National Gallery and we will be running this year’s event on September 29th.” Nigel Fletcher, CEO, International Sports Convention
Progress in sport isn’t just about recognising talent on the field. It’s about ensuring women are represented on stages, in boardrooms, and in the conversations shaping the future of the sport business industry.
“International Women’s Day is an opportunity for our industry to reflect and take action. Increasing female representation on stage and across the sports business industry requires everyone to actively support and put forward more women as speakers and leaders.” – Erin Gennard, Event and Project Manager at International Sports Convention
Real change requires collective action. As an industry, we must actively identify, support, and put forward more female leaders and experts for speaking opportunities, more leadership roles, and decision-making positions.
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day was “Give to Gain”. ISC encourages that agencies, brands, rights holders, clubs and ISC must all try collectively to put more women on stage and become speakers.
Your input matters
Since 2009, ISC has been the meeting place for the Business of Sport, bringing together rights holders, brands, investors and innovators from across the global sports industry.
Over the years, we’ve proudly hosted our flagship event in Amsterdam and Geneva, and since 2022, in London at the iconic Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Each edition of ISC has evolved to reflect the changing landscape of sport and now, as we look ahead to ISC 2027, we want your input to help shape what comes next. We wish to reimagine and reinvigorate ISC for the forthcoming years for you.
ISC is exploring some major changes for ISC 2027, but before we make any decisions, we want to hear from you.
Your feedback is incredibly important to us. ISC has always been built around its community, and your insight will help ensure we continue to grow, innovate, and deliver an event that truly serves the needs of the global sports business industry.
We would greatly appreciate you taking a few minutes (maximum 5 minutes) to share your thoughts, whether that’s on the proposed awards evening, potential summit topics, or how you’d like to see ISC evolve.
This is your opportunity to help shape the future of ISC.
Thank you for being part of our journey, and we look forward to building the next chapter together.
ISC Survey