Syracuse

Gender and the Olympic Movement equality, diversity and inclusion / by Lindsay Parks Pieper

Parks Pieper, Lindsay

Edited by The Olympic Studies Centre - 2024

This article details the changing perspectives on gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in the Olympic Movement. The modern Olympic Games were founded upon masculine and European ideas about sport, which shaped - and continue to shape - women’s participation at the Games. Based on the dual assumptions that sport cultivated manliness and harmed women’s health, male sports organisers initially excluded women from the Olympics. Women slowly gained access, albeit only competitors from certain parts of the world and only in sports considered acceptably feminine. European and North American women participated in the early iterations of the Games in sports that required less physicality and strain. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) slowly expanded sporting opportunities for women throughout the 20th century, and the number of female Olympians at the Games simultaneously increased. Yet women nevertheless remained underrepresented as both athletes and leaders. The IOC enacted various initiatives to help achieve gender equality in the Olympic Movement. These included introducing participation and leadership targets, hosting world conferences on women and sport, forming the IOC Women in Sport Commission, and approving strategic plans with concrete steps to achieve gender equality. As a result, the number of female competitors increased significantly, reaching parity with men at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Women also made strides in leadership, assuming key positions within the IOC, International Sports Federations, and National Olympic Committees. However, meeting these goals uncovered new obstacles related to equality, diversity, and inclusion. Current issues include the continued underrepresentation of women from specific nations, and how best to determine eligibility in the women’s category of sport.

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