Is Paris 2024 really achieving its goals for gender equality?
The Paris Olympics has proudly proclaimed to be the first games in 128 years to offer gender equality.
This has been achieved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) providing an equal number of quota places for female and male athletes, while also increasing the number of women in coaching, broadcasting and sport governance roles.
However, gender equality in sport is not just about the numbers – it involves dismantling systemic patriarchy piece by piece.
Female athlete participation
The ratio of female-to-male athlete parity is significant in the Paris Olympics, given women were banned from the first games in 1896 and only permitted to compete in small numbers in “female-appropriate” events four years later.
There was a steady increase in female participation as the games became more popular through the 20th century. However, it was not until 1979 that the right of women to participate in sport was formally included in the first international convention (United Nations) on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.
It took another 33 years for women to be allowed to compete in all events on the Olympic program in 2012.
At the Paris Olympics, 50% of competing athletes are women, and the Australian team has its highest ever proportion of women (55%).
