Prince George, B.C.- There needs to be more focus on diversity in hiring for leadership positions. That’s the focus of the work by Olympian Marian Lay who will be the key note speaker at the Today’s Woman Leadership conference set for Friday in Prince George.

 Whether in sport or business, Lay says many women are passed by for the leadership roles because  there is still a perception that a male who may be physically larger and who presents with a bigger voice, is the right person for the post “That aggressive style of coaching and leadership is the best way to go versus a woman’s style, which is often much more team work oriented with more listening and a quieter style of moving towards success.”  

She says with the new generation of young women, the big drawback for getting them involved in sport leadership is salaries “Unless you are in the big big sports, the salaries are very poor so a lot of people look at sport today that if they don’t have a spouse with a primary income, it is often hard for them to make a very good living in sport.”

Lay says the recent cutbacks in funding for high school athletic programs couldn’t come at a worse time, “It is so sad that we’re running with an Olympics then cutting back our youth sport, it has been quite stressful for me personally.” She advocates giving youth wide exposure to a broad range of sport and the individual’s talents and interests will shine through.

In her address Friday, Lay says she will encourage women to step forward for the leadership positions, and will call on men to not only provide the opportunities for women, but to give women the support they need to do the job.