Positive Change through Collaboration: The IOC and UN Women Renew Their Commitment to Women in Sports

PROMISING A MORE EQUITABLE TOMORROW?

Positive news for the future of sports — the International Olympic Committee – IOC has renewed its partnership with UN Women , further emphasizing its commitment to promoting gender equity and the empowerment of women and girls through athletics.

UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous and IOC President Thomas Bach signed the new Memorandum of Understanding and were joined by IOC members Mrs. Laura Chinchilla, Mrs. Kolina Grabar-Kitarovic, and HRH Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud. This partnership began in 2012 and was extended once before in 2017.?

“Sport is an unrivaled asset to help us to end all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls, and to ensure women’s full and equal participation in leadership and decision-making,” said Bahous of the collaboration. “There can be no higher goal, and no greater win for us all, and we are honored to be renewing our partnership with the IOC to work towards this target together.”

A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SPORTS

The newly signed memorandum is accompanied by a two-year plan that sets out concrete activities and outcomes to be achieved during this time frame.

The IOC and UN Women are focusing on accomplishing three main objectives:

1. Promoting gender-responsive policies, governance, and investment.
2. Promoting safe and equal opportunities for women and girls to benefit from sport, physical activity and physical education, and preventing gender-based violence.
3. Strengthening advocacy, communication, collaborative insight-generation, and knowledge-sharing.

“Sport has the potential to transform lives, and the extension of our partnership with UN Women will help us to ensure that all women and girls have the opportunity to benefit from this unique power of sport,” said IOC President Thomas Bach, “With this new MoU, we will enhance our ongoing initiatives to encourage sports participation among girls and advance towards gender equality.”

FOCUSING ON THE OLYMPIC GAMES

This partnership renewal puts a spotlight on the IOC’s continuous efforts to advance gender equity, specifically regarding past and present Olympic Games.

While there is still a long way to go, the Olympic Games Paris 2024 is set to break new ground for women. The IOC is allocating the same number of places to women and men athletes, making this the first Olympic Games to achieve full gender parity. Off of the field, reforms made to the Olympic Agenda have caused a substantial increase in the representation of women in both IOC commissions and their membership.?

UN Women have played a crucial role in the IOC’s development and implementation of policies aimed at promoting gender equity through sports.?

PAVING THE ROAD AHEAD?

The renewal of this partnership between the IOC and UN Women comes at a critical time — not just for sports, but for society at large.

Despite some positive advancements, gender inequality remains a pervasive issue. This manifests in the form of wage gaps, limited opportunities for women in leadership roles, and persistent gender-based violence.?

The urgency to accelerate efforts in promoting gender equity is heightened by the global movements and awareness campaigns that spotlight these disparities. The sports industry, with its massive global reach and influence, can serve as a powerful platform for societal change.

To learn more about the work 17 Sport is doing for gender equity, and our commitment to leverage the power of collaboration to ignite systemic positive progress, visit our website.