Identifying and Eliminating Barriers to Women’s Professional Advancement in Sport

This parallel event was sponsored by the International Women’s Group on Women and Sport, the Women’s Sport Foundation, and WomenSport International. Held in the Boss Room in the Church Center of the UN, it was designed to engage participants in discussion about the status of women in sport. The session began with brief introductions of the each of the discussion facilitators, who represented a wide variety of experiences in sport. The discussion leaders then broke the participants into 5 discussion groups.

One of the discussion groups, led by Katherine Starr, founder of Safe4Athletes, discussed sexual abuse in sport and what can be done to reduce and prevent it. All sports are vulnerable to sexual abuse, but sports that engage young athletes (like gymnastics) may be more vulnerable (or more visible) than those which engage older athletes (like cycling). Katherine explained the uniqueness of the coach-athlete relationship, and how detrimental it can be when the person responding to reports of abuse doesn't understand that relationship. She also emphasized how important it is that the person responding to issues of abuse be outside of the team dynamic, and not responsible for the team’s winning record or finances.

A second discussion group talked about about research, development, and education. Participants in this group shared their personal stories of empowerment through sport. One attendee shared how participating in tennis later in life served as a catalyst for her, and she emphasized the importance of promoting sports to women at all stages of life. Another athlete from Pakistan shared her experiences as a successful young athlete who went largely unrecognized by her country’s media. She spoke about the importance of using media, especially social media, to draw attention to the value of sport in women’s empowerment and women’s rights.