Key speakers included Anna Iwarsson, President of the Swedish Confederation of Sports, Vanessa Åsell Tsuruga, Founder of Collective Visibility, Nina Wennerström, Founder of WeSport, Lotta Lindblom and Lisa Beskow from Marathongruppen, Andrea Möllerberg, General Secretary of the Swedish Football Association, and Hans von Uthmann, President of the Swedish Olympic Committee.

Collaboration between the Center for Sports & Business and the Collective Visibility movement

In collaboration with the Collective Visibility movement, the Center for Sports & Business at the Stockholm School of Economics hosted the groundbreaking event "Collective Visibility – Leveraging the Power of Women in Sports". The evening in the Aula at SSE on March 7th was dedicated to illuminating the significant yet often underrepresented role of women in sports, from athletes to executives, and to fostering a global movement towards inclusivity and equal recognition.

The event kicked off at 17:30 with attendees gathering for registration and networking over coffee and fika, setting the stage for an evening of insightful discussions and interesting presentations.

Martin Carlsson-Wall opening the event

Martin Carlsson-Wall, Director for the Center for Sports & Business at the Stockholm School of Economics, opened the evening and welcomed 300 attendees in the Aula of the Stockholm School of Economics.

Welcome Address by Anna Iwarsson, President Swedish Confederation of Sports

Anna Iwarsson, the President of the Swedish Confederation of Sports, held a welcome address that set the tone for the evening.

Vanessa Åsell Tsuruga, Founder of Collective Visibility

Her speech was followed by Vanessa Åsell Tsuruga, who took the stage to introduce the Collective Visibility Project. As the founder and project manager of Collective Visibility, Åsell Tsuruga shared her vision for a global movement that elevates the status and recognition of women in sports.

Lotta Lindblom and Lisa Beskow from Marathongruppen

The program continued with a presentation by Lotta Lindblom and Lisa Beskow from Marathongruppen, who delved into the significance of women's races, particularly Tjejmilen, and their relevance today as platforms for female empowerment and visibility in athletics.

Interview with Nina Wennerström

A short break later, the spotlight turned to the sport agent community with an interview featuring Nina Wennerström, Founder of WeSport and alumni from the Stockholm School of Economics. Her insights into the challenges and opportunities for women in sports representation provided valuable perspectives on the path forward.

Panel Discussion with Andrea Möllerberg & Hans von Uthmann

The evening then transitioned to a panel discussion on how Swedish sports can contribute to the Collective Visibility Project, featuring key figures in Swedish sports, Andrea Möllerberg, General Secretary of the Swedish Football Association, and Hans von Uthmann, President of the Swedish Olympic Committee.

The Management Diploma for Athletes

Finally, highlighting the intersection of academic advancement and athletic excellence, the event concluded with a presentation of the Management Diploma for Athletes offered by the Center for Sports & Business at the Stockholm School of Economics. For this, Anders Sewerin, Director of the Management Diploma for Athletes, took the stage together with several current and former female MDA students that shared their experiences and insights. This initiative exemplifies the potential of dual careers in enhancing the collective visibility and success of women in sports.

Mingle in the SSE Atrium

As the event wrapped up, participants were invited to continue the important conversation over a light meal served in the SSE Atrium, reinforcing the evening's aim of networking and community building.

Moderated by Professor Martin Carlsson-Wall, Director of the Center for Sports & Business, the Collective Visibility event not only sparked crucial dialogues on gender equality in sports but also laid the groundwork for actionable change. With a strong emphasis on sharing best practices and pioneering initiatives, the event is a signficant milestone in the journey towards leveraging the power of women in sports.

Speakers' Voices

I am proud that the sports movement has many women in influential positions in our European and international federations. Here, we are actually a superpower, in relation to our smallness as a country. In the Sports Political Power Index, Denmark's Sports Federation compiles countries' influence within international sport. In the total compilation, which counts both women and men, Sweden is in 13th place in the world and 7th place in Europe. If we look only at women's influence, Sweden is in 5th place in the world and tied for 1st place in Europe. This was a small excerpt from my welcome speech when the Center for Sports & Business at the Stockholm School of Economics invited to a high-class event focused on honouring women in the sports sector and contributing to creating a more equal sports and athletics sector. We have much to be proud of, but we absolutely cannot be satisfied.

Anna Iwarsson

President, Swedish Confederation of Sports

Had the honor of spending Thursday evening at the Stockholm School of Economics and being one of several speakers at Collective Visibility - Leveraging the Power of Women in Sports. Thanks to Martin Carlsson-Wall for the invitation. Thanks to Nina Wennerström, Vanessa Åsell Tsuruga and others for inspiration. Thanks to Hans von Uthmann for company in an important dialogue.

Andrea Möllerberg

General Secretary, Swedish Football Association

Spoke at the Stockholm School of Economics about the sport agent business and just want to emphasize that this is NOT an industry only for guys. To succeed you need to be good at negotiations, sales, marketing, and you need to be result oriented, service minded, organised and to be able to handle pressure - characteristics that both men and women are good at. I hope we will see more great females in the sports business in the coming years.

Nina Wennerström

Founder of WeSport

Our presence at this special event aimed to describe the journeys of Tjejmilen and Vårruset and their profound impact on women's health in the past. This year we take a new stand for women's physical and mental well-being, and we make clear that these races' existence is more crucial than ever.

Lotta Lindblom & Lisa Beskow

Marathongruppen

Words from the Founder

I started COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY to diversify speakers and thought leadership in sport. I am increadibly proud to cement this movement in my home country Sweden. I started a list of women speakers with 9 women in my immediate network in November 2022, and it grew with self and peer nominations to 1,300 women in 100 countries. We are proud to be a list, not a ranking.

Stockholm School of Economics and the Center for Sports and Business bet big on COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY by organizing an event with 300 guests on March 7 including distinguished speakeers from the Swedish Olympic Committee. Harvard University joined COLLECTIVE VISIBIILITY movement as well through the Global Sports Initiative at Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. An organic movement, cross pollinated with academia and the global sports business, is a winning formula to spotlight women's talent.

Women are underrepresented in sport, limiting us from playing an active role in solving complex issues in global sports and academia. Diversity enhances innovation and enriches the conversations we are having about sport. With COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY, we help sports conferences fill their panel discussions and keynotes with a diversified and nuanced perspective. With more women speaking, we visualize that you can be what you see.

COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY will position Sweden as a leading global player in the quest to attract, nurture and retain women talent in sports. By creating a platform featuring women who speak about sport, we strategically populate a talent pool that will become a solution for many in their search for talent. The talk has been to move out of your comfort zone. But we think differently: We move women into their comfort zone.

Vanessa Åsell Tsuruga, Founder of COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY

About Collective Visibility

Collective Visibility is a collaboration with the Center for Sports & Business at the Stockholm School of Economics and the Weatherhead Center at Harvard University, dedicated to amplifying women's voices in the global sports business and academia.

Collective Visibility was founded by Vanessa Åsell Tsuruga in 2023 with the reasoning that women's perspectives must be inlcuded in the current sport thought leadership. She created a list which grew organically through self and peer nominations on LinkedIn. The goal was to gather 1,000 speakers in 100 countries by the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, it was reached 282 days ahead of schedule.

Collective Visibility strongly believes in fostering women's valuable perspectives and strives for equal opportunities and greater diversity within the sports ecosystem. It is dedicated to raise visibility for women in sports and to diversify speakers and thought leadership by increasing the number of women speakers at conferences, summits, and in media. By engaging, learning, and elevating one another. Collective Visibility creates a network that has the power to surpass current barriers women are facing in the sports industry. This is achieved by creating a joint list that profiles women and which will be shared with organizers, media, academia, and the wider sports community upon request.

More About Management Diploma for Athletes

The Management Diploma for Athletes (MDA) program marked the start of sports and business at the Stockholm School of Economics. In 2011, SSE Executive Education was invited by the Johan Cruyff Institute to launch this one-year program. With the MDA. we got the first "real" educational program. In terms of content, the MDA program can be seen as a "mini-MBA program". Similar to an Executive MBA program, the participants learn about strategy, marketing, leadership, and accounting. In total, the program is 30 days, normally consisting of 2-day modules.

MDA is specifically for professional athletes, ready to start their next career. The diploma program brings together people from various sports arenas who all have in common a strong commitment and determination to succeed. These are the same ingredients to make both a successful career in sport and a successful career in business.

MDA builds on athletes' sports background by combining quality academic content with their close relations to the business community. The program focuses on five thematic areas needed to provide the full picture of how to run, develop or start a business.

Find out more here

Sports and Business SIR

Leveraging the power of women in sports – Collective Visibility event at SSE