The next generation of world-beating female athletes could be cheated of success by an enduring Old Boys’ network running sport, a government-backed report will warn tomorrow.

A crisis in women’s participation is being exacerbated by male-dominated governing bodies that are out of touch with half the population and risk compromising elite performance, the first findings by an influential commission reveal.

The 12-strong body, set up last year by Andy Burnham, then the Sports Secretary, to address leadership, investment and profile issues in women’s sport, called for greater gender diversity at senior management level across the sector.

An audit of the 46 sports governing bodies in England funded by the taxpayer and the Lottery found that just one in five board members is a woman. A quarter of sports, including football and rugby, have no women on their boards. The sports with the highest female representation are mainly minority sports such as volleyball, triathlon and women’s rugby.

A “macho” culture inhospitable to working mothers, a lack of champions at the top and discrimination at the grassroots through stereotyping and inadequate facilities are all barriers to women landing the most senior jobs, the report said.

“Sport is failing in its core business: performance,” said Sue Tibballs, chief executive of the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation, which manages the commission. “More women want to play sport but the way sport is led means it is failing to capitalise on the opportunity to grow grassroots participation and enjoy greater elite success.”

The report said that the world should see a “female-friendly sports sector” by the time that the Olympics come to London in 2012.

Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Britain’s most successful Paralympic athlete and the commission’s chairman, said: “Things have to change. I do not believe there are not the qualified women out there. Some sports are trying to change but others have more entrenched views.”

Sports governing bodies need to review their leadership structures to better reflect the diversity of Britain, the report said. “We’re trapped by our history in sport of old-school committees and members’ clubs but we’re in a very different world now,” Clare Connor, head of women’s cricket at the England and Wales Cricket Board, said. “The opportunities have to be fairer and the recruitment processes more transparent.”

Karen Earl, who founded a successful sports sponsorship consultancy 25 years ago, said that the opportunities for women had improved dramatically since she entered the business.

“There is a growing belief among women that they can get to the top,” she said. “There may still be a feeling that they have to do a bit more but I’m not one for weeping and wailing. Women should have to prove themselves in the same way as men.”

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