Voices of Change Through COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY

Women remain underrepresented in leadership, speakership, and decision-making roles across the sports industry. While women have made significant progress in many areas of sport, opportunities to influence public conversations and industry discussions continue to be constrained by structural barriers. 

A new research article by Vanessa Åsell Tsuruga and Christos Anagnostopoulos, published in the International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, examines how COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY has sought to address this challenge by increasing the visibility of women speakers and thought leaders in sport. 

From a single LinkedIn message to a global initiative

COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY began on November 9, 2022, with a LinkedIn direct message sent to nine women in sport. The accompanying post highlighted women who were already speaking at conferences and invited others to add more names in the comments. 

The response exceeded expectations. Women nominated colleagues, nominated themselves, and encouraged others to participate. As the list grew, it evolved into a collaborative effort driven by peer- and self-nomination rather than traditional gatekeeping.

Rather than creating a ranking of experts, the initiative deliberately developed a directory designed to expand the pool of visible speakers. When uncertainty arose, inclusion was prioritized over exclusion, reflecting the belief that women already faced enough barriers to public visibility. 

Challenging established patterns

The paper describes this first phase as "Amplification as disruption: Re-voicing the dominant narrative". By documenting and showcasing women with expertise across the sports sector, COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY sought to challenge the long-standing dominance of male voices in conferences, business discussions, and public discourse. 

Building the initiative required overcoming numerous practical challenges. LinkedIn limitations on stages, hyperlinks, and images required constant adaptation. Accessibility measures, including alternative text for images, were introduced from the outset, while locations rather than nationalities were used to help conference organisers identify speakers geographically. Throughout the process, the initiative maintained an inclusive approach based on participation rather than hierarchy. 

Building a community through digital connection

As participation increased, the project expanded beyond a growing LinkedIn list. 

Working together with the Center for Sports and Business at the Stockholm School of Economics, COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY developed a searchable online speaker directory where women could submit and update their own profiles. The platform was designed around transparency, informed consent, and GDPR compliance, enabling participants to retain control over their own information. 

According to the study, the speaker directory now includes more than 770 women from more than 70 countries, while the earlier LinkedIn initiative identified more than 1,300 women across 100 countries. 

The researchers describe this stage as "The networked commons: Building community through digital connection". The directory functions as a shared resource that enables event organizers to search for speakers while allowing women to promote their own expertise through a common platform. 

Collective action in practice

The study is grounded in collective action theory, which examines how people work together to address shared challenges. The authors argue that COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY illustrates several characteristics associated with successful collective action, including a shared purpose, collaboration, accessibility, and the mobilisation of existing networks. 

Methodologically, the research uses collaborative autoethnography, combining Vanessa Åsell Tsuruga's first-hand experience of creating the initiative with theoretical analysis by the co-author Christos Anagnostopoulos. Together, they trace the project's development from its earliest stages through to its current form. 

Looking ahead

The paper identifies a third phase, "Purpose-driven entrepreneurship: Scaling impact through collective action". While the initiative continues to prioritise its social purpose, the authors also discuss future opportunities to develop sustainable business models that support continued growth without compromising the project's values. 

Among the future ambitions are better ways of measuring the impact of the initiative, expanding its content, and creating a lasting knowledge base showcasing women's expertise and accomplishments. The authors also describe how the COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY concept has been designed with a scalable brand identity that could eventually be adopted to sectors beyond sport. 

Lessons for social change

In their conclusion, the authors argue that COLLECTIVE VISIBILITY represents more than a speaker directory. They describe it as a sustained act of social entrepreneurship built on purpose, persistence, and shared identity, demonstrating how community-driven initiatives can contribute to greater representation. 

The paper concludes by identifying five practical principles that emerged from the initiative:

• Dig where you stand by building from lived experience
• Think evergreen, focusing on long-term rather than short-term impact
• Use peer- and self-nomination to strengthen participation and representation
• Encourage joyful co-creating by making it easy and rewarding for people to contribute
• Communicate a clear purpose repeatedly through empathy, storytelling, and a shared narrative

For the authors, these principles extend beyond sport. They suggest that similar approaches may help promote inclusion and collective action in other sectors where representation remains uneven.