The percentage of women on BASC’s governing council exceeds figures released by a government-backed review which show that 29 per cent of FTSE 100 board positions are held by women.
The government says according to data revealed at the half way point, more women than ever are on the boards of the UK’s largest companies but they still have some way to go to meet the target of 33 per cent women by 2020.
Ian Bell, BASC chief executive, said: “BASC are leading the way here and we are very proud of the fact that almost one third of our elected board are women.”
Five members of BASC’s 16-strong governing council are women, which equates to 31 per cent.
BASC now has almost 11,000 women members and has been catering further for the upsurge in women shooters in recent years.
Claire Sadler, a lawyer elected to BASC council at the association’s AGM in June, said: “As a Council member, I am proud that we are ahead of the curve when it comes to female representation on our board especially given the growing diversity of the shooting community.”
The number of women taking up shooting sports is on the rise, with the latest Home Office figures showing more than 2,000 women became certificate holders over the last two years.
The figures show that 5.87 per cent of certificate holders overall were female. That equates to 35,367.
Claire Sadler added: “It is fantastic to know that not only are more ladies than ever before trying shooting sports but that they are staying part of the community and becoming certificate holders.
“It is great to see so many ladies out enjoying shooting sports through BASC Ladies social media profiles and hopefully this will encourage even more women to our community.”
BASC chairman Peter Glenser QC said: “As the father of a teenage daughter who shoots, I am delighted that we are opening up the sport I love to more and more women. The number of women members we have on our elected council is a clear sign that BASC wants to open up pathways into shooting for more and more people.”
Bill Harriman, BASC’s director of firearms, said: “I am very pleased to see a rise in the numbers of women coming into shooting. Shooting as a sport is gender neutral and it is heartening to see that neutrality. My own shoot has three women guns and I would urge other shoots to extend a welcome to any woman who wants to join. Getting more women into shooting is vital for the long-term survival of shooting sports.”
BASC runs an online hub to bring together all aspects of ladies’ shooting. Follow @BascLadies on Twitter for more information.