UNESCO Report: Women and girls’ access to sport still lagging far behind On the eve of the Olympic Games, a new UNESCO report reveals that women and girls are still far from having equal access to sport at any level, professional or amateur. UNESCO urgently calls on its 194 Member States to tackle these inequalities by putting in place the recommendations contained in the report. On 24 July, the Organization will bring together sports ministers from around the world at its Paris headquarters to develop concrete political actions.
UNESCO Report: Women and girls’ access to sport still lagging far behind
UNESCO Report: Women and girls’ access to sport still lagging far behind
On the eve of the Olympic Games, a new UNESCO report reveals that women and girls are still far from having equal access to sport at any level, professional or amateur. UNESCO urgently calls on its 194 Member States to tackle these inequalities by putting in place the recommendations contained in the report. On 24 July, the Organization will bring together sports ministers from around the world at its Paris headquarters to develop concrete political actions.
Thanks to the efforts of the International Olympic Committee and international sports federations, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will see full gender parity among the athletes competing for the very first time. This considerable progress must serve as an impetus throughout the world to guarantee access for girls and women to both amateur and professional sport, and end the violence and other barriers than can prevent this. In its new report, UNESCO shares concrete measures with its Member States to achieve this goal.
The UNESCO Sport and Gender Equality Game Plan is a road-map for policy-makers in both governments and sports organizations responsible for driving forward gender equity. It highlights three urgent challenges facing girls and women in sport:
- Ending gender-based violence in sport
- Reducing teenage girls’ dropout from sport
- More women needed in sports leadership roles
21% of women athletes (and 11% of men) reported experiencing at least one form of sexual abuse as a child in sport. One of the policy priorities identified by the UNESCO Game Plan is ending violence against women and girls, which directly undermines opportunities, development and human rights, including the right to safely participate in and enjoy sport.
49% of girls drop out of sports during adolescence – this is 6 times higher than the drop-out rate of adolescent boys. This high rate of attrition is explained by several factors, among them the lack of women role models, concerns around safety, lack of confidence and negative body image. Since sport is a tool of women’s empowerment, with proven links to success in academic studies and business, the drop-out rate must be tackled decisively.
The pay gap in professional sport is a highly visible sign of inequality – Forbes Magazine’s list of the 50 highest paid athletes in the world still does not include a single woman. But UNESCO’s Game Plan underscores that the lack of women’s leadership at all levels of sport is a structural problem even more in need of urgent remedy: last year only 30% of the world’s largest sports federations were chaired by women. The excellent gender equality indicators of the Paris 2024 Games could be an accelerator for the appointment of women to sports leadership roles.
To address these challenges, UNESCO calls on, and offers support to its Member States to implement 6 measures:
- Use sport to change mentalities
Promote women athlete role models and harness the power of popular sporting events to promote gender equality in sport; develop male athlete ‘allies’ for women and girls.
- Ensure equal and fair media coverage
Advocate for equitable media coverage and fair representation of women athletes and sports, and support initiatives that increase the representation of women in sports journalism, and capacity-building on inclusive reporting for journalists.
- Establish and enforce comprehensive regulations
Create, strengthen and enforce safeguarding standards, laws and legal frameworks to prevent discrimination and violence in sport, hold perpetrators accountable, and offer remedy to survivors.
- Bolster reporting mechanisms and judicial processes
Support sports organizations in setting up transparent and anonymous abuse reporting systems to empower survivors to come forward without fear of retaliation and enhance judicial infrastructure and develop sport-specific legal statutes to streamline the process of prosecuting perpetrators.
- Invest in education and training
Set up specific training programs for sports educators, coaches and other professionals on gender equality and inclusion, as well as on recognizing, preventing, and responding to violence.
- Incorporate survivor voices and strengthen research
Share the voice of women who have experienced discrimination or violence in sport and ensure that their insights are integrated into policy mechanisms. Systematically gather harmonized, gender-disaggregated data on discrimination and violence, and on the impact of gender strategies.
UNESCO Member States are also expected to implement the Handbook on Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls in Sport co-published by UNESCO and UN Women in 2023
Sport Ministers’ Meeting at UNESCO’s Paris HQ
On 24 July, sports ministers from around the world will discuss the implementation of these six UNESCO measures for gender equality in sport with experts, athletes and activists at UNESCO Paris headquarters. The conclusions will feed into the Heads of State and Government Summit organized by France and the International Olympic Committee the following day, 25 July.
