Women are making significant strides in the sports world, taking on more leadership roles, advocating for better policies, and increasing investments in women’s sports. This has resulted in record attendance and media coverage of women’s sporting events, as well as increased attention to addressing issues such as pay equity and violence and abuse against women in sports.
Despite the progress that has been made, barriers and gender bias still persist in the sports industry. A survey conducted by the Sport Integrity Global Alliance in 2023 found that only 26.9 percent of executive positions in international sport federations are held by women, and only three out of 31 International Sports Federations have women in top leadership positions. In more positive news, the gender diversity of the International Olympic Committee has been improving, with 41 percent of members being female and more diversity in terms of age and regional representation. The IOC has also achieved gender-equal representation on its commissions, marking a historic high and a 100 percent increase since 2013.
Progress is also being made within specific sports organizations, such as World Athletics, where the number of women on the Council has increased and achieved gender parity four years ahead of schedule. The organization has set a goal to increase the number of female coaches to at least 20 percent by the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in 2025. However, there is still a significant gender gap when it comes to coaching and leadership roles within athletes’ entourages. Despite advancements
