Kate McLoughlin Becomes chef de mission for Australian Paralympic Team at Sochi 2014

There have been female deputy chef de missions before – Kitty Chiller for the Australian Olympic team in London last August, and Kate McLoughlin for the Paralympic team a month later in September.

But McLoughlin has broken through the glass ceiling with her appointment as chef for the Australian Paralympic team at next year’s Sochi Games in Russia.

“I don’t think it’s a case of women not being interested in sports operations,” McLoughlin said of the groundbreaking appointment, which was foreshadowed online by The Australian yesterday.

“I feel it’s a case of most women being ranked at middle management or lower. It’s men therefore that always get the leadership roles.

“I read somewhere recently that only 20 per cent of national federations have women as CEOs. I guess everything in sport still tends to lean towards men but it’s changing,” she added.

“And that’s what is really good, the APC is trying to break that trend and bring women through.”

The news coincides with the ‘one year to go’ countdown to the 2014 Paralympics which will run from March 7-16.

McLoughlin, who is sports operations manager at the APC, was village mayor at the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Games and also worked for the NSW Institute of Sport.