Gender Equality in Sport

Sport is one of the most powerful platforms for promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls.

As the leader of the Olympic Movement, the IOC is taking continuous action to advance gender equality.

Great progress has been made in terms of balancing the total number of athletes participating at the Games, however, many other challenges and gaps remain. The IOC is working to address these inequalities through leadership development, advocacy and awareness campaigns, and appointing more women to leadership roles within the administration and key governance positions.

Together with many Olympic Movement stakeholders, the IOC has implemented significant gender equality initiatives so that girls and women around the world are being given greater access and opportunities to participate in sport.

News

All Gender Equality news here
Iris Metspalu, the Estonian umpire who officiated the first medal match of Tokyo 2020
Tokyo 2020
A positive trend at Tokyo 2020 for female coaches and officials
 Team France celebrate victory over Team Japan during the Mixed Team Final
Tokyo 2020
Mixed-gender events: a sign of innovation and greater gender diversity at Tokyo 2020
Gender Portrayal
Tokyo 2020
New IOC guidelines to ensure gender-equal, fair and inclusive representation in sport in Tokyo
lighting of Olympic cauldron Tokyo 2020
Tokyo 2020
Tokyo 2020: a new blueprint for the Olympic competition schedule and the visibility of women’s sport
 flagbearers
Tokyo 2020
Women athletes take centre stage at Tokyo 2020 Opening Ceremony
Andy Murray of Great Britain (R) and Heather Watson of Great Britain celebrate victory
Gender Equality
IOC mobilises Olympic Movement with strong commitments at the Generation Equality Forum in Paris
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Portrayal guidelines

Sports coverage is very influential in shaping gender norms and stereotypes. These guidelines are intended to raise awareness of what constitutes gender bias across the various aspects of portrayal within the sporting context, and how this can be overcome to ensure our content and communications are more inclusive, balanced and representative of the world we live in.
Download them here

A gender-equality community

An IOC LinkedIn community group has been created for individuals working in the Olympic movement who are committed to closing the gender gap in sport. The group is a place to share best practices, success stories, lesson learned, news and events, and fosters a solutions-based approach to achieving gender equality both on and off the field of play.

Join the group

IOC Gender Equality Review Project

In 2017, the IOC launched a comprehensive review of the current state of gender equality in the Olympic Movement, with a mandate to produce action-oriented recommendations for change. The result is the IOC Gender Equality Review Project (2018) with 25 recommendations covering areas such as participation, funding, governance and portrayal, which are focused on achieving tangible results to strengthen gender equality across the entire Olympic Movement.

Find out more

Gender equality through time

Women playing Rugby

The IOC has been actively promoting the advancement of gender equality in and through sport across the Olympic Movement and beyond since the 1900s. This section offers a historical timeline of women’s participation in Olympic sport and leadership.

At the Olympic Games

Within the Olympic Movement

Advocacy and Support

One of the IOC’s priorities is to actively advocate equality between men and women. The IOC provides essential tools and funding in order to achieve the Olympic Movement’s gender-equality goals.

Gender Equality Review Project

Women & Sport Awards

Support initiatives

Partnerships

Safe sport

The IOC firmly believes harassment and abuse have no place in sport, nor in society, and advocates for safe sports. It has several Prevention of Harassment and Abuse in Sport (PHAS) initiatives in place, including clear measures for the Olympic and Youth Olympics Games.

Learn more here

IOC toolkit for safeguarding athletes from harassment and abuse in sport

REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

IOC Gender Equality Review Project
IOC Toolkit on Safeguarding Athletes from harassment and abuse in sport
‘Women in the Olympic Movement’ factsheet
Los Angeles Declaration (2012)
5th IOC World Conference on Women and Sport Report
IOC Sustainability Report (2018)
La protección de los atletas ante el acoso y el abuso en el deporte (Spanish)
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