___________________________________________________________This qualitative research makes a contribution to studies in gender, agency, and ethical leadership formation. It seeks to evaluate if the suggestions made by Montesde-Oca-O'Reilly & Yurén (2010) with respect to ethical leadership formation (as a result of a study carried out with female scholars in the state of Morelos, Mexico) also apply to ethical leadership formation of six women of non-governmental associations who work with gender issues in the same region. Our results indicate that the factors suggested by the above mentioned authors do apply to the participants in our study; namely, agency, social and moral formation, having support people and mentors, pursuing autonomy, being exposed to problematic situations that present challenges, establishing far-reaching goals, generating dispositions for resistance to instrumental logic, being exposed to leadership figures, as well as an increase in cultural and social capital. Like the authors mentioned above, we emphasize the importance of the ethical and existential dimensions in leadership formation. ____________________________________________________________

This qualitative research makes a contribution to leadership formation, gender, and sports studies in Mexico. We evaluate whether the suggestions by Montes-de-Oca-O'Reilly & Yurén (2010) with respect to ethical leadership formation (a study carried out with female academics) also apply to five female and five male sport leaders in the same region. Our findings indicate that the factors suggested by the above mentioned authors for leadership formation do apply to the female and male participants in our study; namely, agency, having support people and mentors, pursuing autonomy, being exposed to problematic situations that present challenges, establishing far-reaching goals, generating dispositions for resistance to instrumental logic, being exposed to leadership figures, social and moral formation, as well as an increase in cultural and social capital. We also identify some sociocultural factors that make sport leadership formation more difficult. Athletes were found to have faced gender inequities. In addition, we interviewed five officials from the state-level government institution that coordinates sports activities. We recommend government sport policies that employ a broader gender perspective at the national, state, and municipal levels.