Cricket SA president Rihan Richards says the growth of female leadership within the organisation has regressed and has made him “very, very concerned”.
Speaking at CSA’s AGM at the weekend, Richards said the organisation needs to relook at the strategies for its provincial affiliates, none of which are presided over by women.
On the field, CSA has made an enormous effort to grow the women’s game, which has proven to be largely successful, with the Proteas team reaching the final in three of the last four ICC World Cup tournaments.
However, that same direction and energy is not seen in the boardroom, most notably in the provincial structures. There are no women serving on the Members Council, CSA’s highest decision-making body, which is made up of the presidents of the 15 provincial unions.
Anne Vilas, who was president of Central Gauteng Lions from 2020 to 2023, was the last woman to serve on the Members Council. She received no votes from her fellow presidents when she stood for a position on CSA’s board of directors.
The only female leadership serving at a high level in the organisation is on the board, but none are drawn from the provinces.
Chair Pearl Maposhe, Mahlako Maleka and the newly elected Adila Chowan and Ziyanda Ngcobo are the only senior female leaders in CSA and are all independent directors.
“We cannot expect that all the women [on the board] should come from the independent directors.”
This year’s AGM took place under a cloud as concerns grow that some provincial presidents have grown tired of the board having a majority of independent directors.
A section of the members council is understood to want the board to be run by a majority of the provincial presidents, using an argument that “cricket should be run by cricket people”.
Critics have argued that CSA got itself in the mess that required drastic administrative restructuring precisely when its board was dominated by provincial union presidents.
Seven years ago, the government had to step in to help oversee CSA’s restructuring, after sponsors had walked away and players had threatened to boycott.
CSA is only just starting to restore confidence with commercial backers, while the public remains sceptical.
The fact that some of those provincial presidents are pushing for a return to the time when non-independents dominated the board while they are unable to fulfil a mandate of CSA’s to grow more female leaders, is seen as one example of why the apparent desire for change shouldn’t happen.
“We will have to debate thoroughly in the new year to ensure that we do address it. It was a matter that was raised in my members council meeting [three days before the AGM],” Richards, who is entering his final year as CSA president, said.
“We might have to take some drastic steps at some stage to ensure we get more, and better, female representation on our members council and within the board.
“We comply with our set eminent persons group (EPG) targets. But we must be honest, we have not achieved what is really possible.”
TimesLIVE