Four-time ice hockey Olympian Angela Ruggiero has said that more women need to be in positions of power in order to help make a substantial change in women’s sport. 

The 40 year-old is also the CEO of Sports Innovation Lab, which is a ‘technology-powered market research firm’ that ‘ identifies the technology products and services that will power the future of sports’.

She believes that women’s sport is already thriving but that there is still so much more that needs to change. 

“All these things we're talking about, sponsorship, media, rights holders, federations, we need more women at the top,” she told The Women's Sport Debate show.

"At the end of the day those are the people who are making investment decisions, those are the people holding each other accountable. That trickle-line effect. 

“I just have to underscore that point about leadership and seeing more women at the top - it's slowly changing but at least we're seeing some traction. That's the one thing I would advocate more of. Everything else will follow.”

Sue Anstiss, who founded Fearless Women, a company which aims to 'drive positive change for women’s sport’, believes that there is ‘still a long way to go’. 

She said: "In order to get funding the board needs to be made up of 30 per cent of one gender, which has really helped in terms of getting more women on.

"To make that happen it doesn't always work when people say 'we're going to set a target' and 'we hope to get there in the future'. I think it helps when it's a little bit more persuasive, sometimes that's public opinion, sometimes it's a reaction from sponsors, sometimes it's withholding funding.

“Sadly, it won't happen in a trickle-down way. If we anticipate it will do then we sometimes need something more forceful to make that change. It's better than it has been, but with a long way to go.”