Shift towards shared leadership models in dance organisations

The number of publicly-funded dance organisations operating shared leadership models is increasing, according to new research by Birmingham-based charity AWA DANCE. 

The charity’s Gender Balance in the UK Dance Sector 2025 research analysed 94 nationally-funded dance organisations across England, Scotland and Wales, gathering publicly-available data on gender distribution within top leadership positions.

It found 23 of the 94 organisations (24.5%) had shared leadership models in place. This compares with to eight of 82 publicly-funded dance organisations (9.76%) operating shared leadership models in 2023.

Further analysis showed 34.9% of artistic director positions and 29.8% of CEO positions across the 94 organisations are currently shared. Women were found to make up the majority of shared positions, accounting for 61.8% of shared artistic director roles and 80.6% of shared CEO roles.

AWA DANCE’s report says the trend “is an important step in acknowledging alternative leadership models that may support gender equity and collaboration”.

“The prevalence of shared roles, especially for CEOs, suggests that collaborative leadership models are becoming more accepted and even necessary in the sector,” the report adds.

Despite the notable trend, the report acknowledges that traditional leadership models remain dominant in the UK’s dance sector, explaining that funding constraints have been citied as a reason why some organisations are unable to implement shared leadership models.

“It is possible that the growing trend in shared leadership is not only an ideological shift but also a financial necessity. Organisations may turn to job sharing as a way to accommodate budget constraints while maintaining operations,” the report explains.

“If this is the case, shared roles may not always reflect progressive values but rather economic survival strategies. This raises concerns about long-term sustainability and equity within these models.”

‘Persistent power imbalances’

The research also highlights that higher levels of funding continues to equate to a greater proportion of men in leadership roles.

Women currently hold 54% of artistic director positions in organisations, which receive less than £250,000 in public funds annually. This compares with men holding 14% of artistic direction positions in these organisations, with the remaining 32% being carried out as shared roles.

In contrast, there are currently no female artistic directors among organisations receiving more than £1m in public funds annually, while there are nine male artistic directors across nine different dance organisations in the highest funding band.

The research found slightly more balance among CEO roles, with four women and four men acting as CEOs across eight of the highest income organisations, but women were still overrepresented among smaller-scale organisations.

The report says the dominance of men in leadership roles at the highest-funded organisations “echoes a clear trend” from AWA DANCE’s first research project in 2023. It adds that the pattern “reflects persistent power imbalances and invites scrutiny of how recruitment, succession planning and institutional culture may hinder women’s progression”.

Women also currently occupy more leadership positions in founder-led organisations, accounting for 54.5% of leadership roles, compared with men holding 38.2% of roles. They were also found to be less likely to be appointed to a leadership role, occupying 43.8% of appointed single leadership positions, compared with 46.9% of men.

“Although women are well represented in leadership, they are over-represented in founder-led, shared, and lower-funded roles,” the report explains. “This suggests systemic barriers to accessing what are perceived as the most influential and best-funded posts.”

Elsewhere, the research notes “small but notable” progress in leadership positions held by non-binary people, who represent 1% of CEO roles among publicly-funded dance organisations, compared with 0.2% in 2023.

“While the numbers remain small, their inclusion in the data is a step towards acknowledging diverse gender identities in dance leadership,” the report says.

“Continued tracking and visibility are essential to support equity across all gender expressions.”