The industrial bases of advanced countries are being re-shaped by geo-political forces beyond their control. Regarded as the most significant change since the industrial revolution, this ‘new economy’ has significant implications for the future of work. As countries embark on this critical transformation, the key role of developing a broader set of competencies has been universally emphasised. In addition to having technical or professional expertise and a focus on results for shareholders, the best performers working in new economy organisations will succeed because they deliver better outcomes for a range of stakeholders by practising valued interpersonal skills differently. These competencies are transferable between workplaces and employment sectors, and include leadership, teamwork, empathy, collaboration, communication, competing, and problem-solving. Importantly, these skills are practised differently in new economy organisation models — in an open, inclusive, egalitarian, agile, and people-centric manner. In contrast, the old economy organisation model was designed for a more predictable stable environment where hierarchies of managers seek to plan and control outcomes for shareholders.

Although the competencies needed to succeed in the new economy are known, their source and gendered practice in the workplace is poorly understood. This project addresses that knowledge gap by identifying the important role sport plays in the skills problem and how gender matters. Research focuses on commercial law, a female majority profession in Australia that nevertheless maintains a hegemonically masculine workplace culture, as a case study. It critically examines the role that ordinary experiences of playing organised team sport have in competency development and practice. The data show how the practice and appreciation of these skills have profound impacts on work and career advancement. Using an approach that combines analysis of observational, interview, and survey data, and deploying Bourdieu’s theoretical framework, the research discovers unsuspected connections between the persistence of the gender gap in paid work, participation in sport, and the practice of a broader set of competencies vital to success in the new economy.

The key discovery is that ‘playing sport like a girl’ is an advantage in the economic transformation and a resource for gender equality in two ways. First, feminine sportsshaped competencies are a better match for the new economy organisation model. That match should be recognised and utilised by organisations and reflected in women’s better remuneration and career advancement. Second, recognition and demand for masculine sports-shaped competencies will diminish as old economy organisations are forced to change or perish. This discovery suggests the need for sports organisations to protect how females learn to play sport and resist the temptation to confuse the successful commercialisation of women’s sport with ‘playing sport like a man’. It also highlights the need to change how most males learn to play sport. Speculatively, failure to do so may well produce a gender gap adverse to men in the new economy.