16th April 2010 09:03
Richardson is one of the brightest stars on the sports administration circuit of the Netherlands. Having worked her way up through the National Rugby Federation and the National Olympic Committee of the Netherlands, the 37-year-old today heads the Sports Events Foundation Le Champion in Lijnden on the outskirts of Amsterdam as the chief executive officer. The 18-member outfit oversees a number of sports events encompassing running, walking and cycling.
But the journey so far has been far from easy for Richardson. She is well versed with the realities of the sport landscape, where men far outnumber women especially in administrative roles. Richardson attributes some of this imbalance to the existing social circles.
'In the Netherlands almost all directors and board members in sports are men. Being a woman and director in sports is rare and not always accepted. Men tend to chose men out of their own social network for top positions. Sometimes it takes courage to choose a woman in a leadership position,' she said.
Although Richardson feels strongly about this fact she does recognise women could do more. 'On the other hand, women should do more to obtain a leadership position in the sports. There are a lot of women with a background in elite sports and they know what it means to reach to the top. It means hard work, dedication, sacrifices and making (sometimes difficult) decisions to reach there,' Richardson said.
Knowledge, experience, and natural leadership are all qualities Richardson has exhibited at every level in her career. Previous to her current role, Richardson served as the general secretary of the Dutch Rugby Federation and the account manager at the Netherlands Olympic Committee.
Despite the obstacles, Richardson does see a promising future for women in sport.
'With the kind of effort the international and national athletics federation are taking in creating more possibilities for women to get into leadership position, I think we will see more women in leadership positions in athletics. It will be good for our sport.'
But at the same time she calls for continuity in order to bring parity in sports administration.
'I think that the international and national body can invest more in talent and creating social networks for women. It is good to talk with other women in similar positions and with similar goals. It is also good to learn from men and women in leadership positions in sports.
'I am not in favour of positive discrimination, but women need to be given a chance when they are well qualified. Not because she is a woman, but because she is qualified. The only difference is that she does not always have the same social network that a man tends to have. If that's the case I think a woman deserves the chance to prove herself.
'This is something the international body, the national body and the state have to propagate. Then you will create a situation in the future where more women are in higher positions.'
Moving forward, it is easy to focus on Richardson's personal inspiration - continual improvement.
'I am always reaching for improvement for the organisation I work. If you want to improve an organisation I believe that you have to do your absolute personal best to reach that goal,' said Richardson.
'Always reaching for improvement and perfection is something I learned from my parents. It does not matter if you are a boy or a girl. When you want something, in sports or in your career, you have to work hard to reach your goal.'
Richardson is hopeful others will heed the same advice, and together everyone can work to continually improve the situation and contribute to increasing the number of women leaders in the future.